


promise you'll remember (when the sky is grey)

by addictiveheart



Series: summer love [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: American AU, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bottom Harry, Chef Harry Styles, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Infidelity, Lake-town, M/M, Minor Angst, Oops, Oral Sex, Skinny Dipping, Smut, Songwriter Louis Tomlinson, Summer, Top Louis, also niall zayn and liam aren't really in it that much, and if they dont work there then their gfs do, both harry and louis have an affinity for rupauls drag race, but not between louis and harry, but nothing actually happens, but the skinny dipping scene is extremely brief, harry is a swiftie, harry just makes an offhand comment about it, oh also niall owns a bar and almost all of 5sos works at it bc i want them to, once again bc i said so, only like two minor scenes, pierced and tatted up louis bc i can, sorry :(, sorry im not good at smut and i dont wanna fuck up the fic, sorry lol, the harry x female oc is very very minor and is only brought up occasionally, there's also past zayn x perrie mentioned but if you blink you'll miss it, to be honest there's not that much smut, trigger warning, very mild smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:28:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 32,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25546684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addictiveheart/pseuds/addictiveheart
Summary: "Once you come to this town, you find that it's not so easy to leave," Niall spoke with a fond tone in his voice. "Canyon isn't a place that one leaves behind easily.""I guess we'll be able to test your theory come August," Harry spoke with a small grin, "because I'm set to leave on the twenty-ninth to get back to work in LA."Niall smirked back in reply, "I guess we will, but mark my words, you'll end up finding something to make you stay. We all did."Harry laughed, surprised at the man’s unwavering confidence in his statement. "We'll see."-a summer spent in small town Maine, filled with trips to the farmer’s market, lemonade tailgating, taylor swift, and falling in love at quite possibly the most inconvenient time ever (not necessarily in that order).
Relationships: Andre Gray/Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles/Original Female Character(s), Michael Clifford/Crystal Leigh, Michal Mlynowski/Gemma Styles, Niall Horan/Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards/Jesy Nelson, Sarah Jones/Mitch Rowland, Sierra Deaton/Luke Hemmings, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Series: summer love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065644
Comments: 24
Kudos: 88
Collections: HL Summer Fest 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: A summer spent at a small lake town where Harry and Louis are two strangers trying to find themselves, and along the way they end up finding each other. Featuring the local ice cream shop, trips to the farmer’s market, sitting on the dock with their feet in the water, watching the sunset, skinny dipping, cliff diving, teaching each other how to waterski, or play volleyball, or etc.
> 
> holy shit this took so long to write. in the end, i'm not completely happy with it, but after hours upon hours of revising and editing and staring at a google doc, there's nothing more that i can think to change. this is by far the longest fic i've ever written, and it's only my second time attempting to write smut, so please go easy on me. i also didn't have a beta, so all mistakes are my own.
> 
> finally, here's to the hours spent patrolling pinterest, the three (3) seasons of criminal minds, and the nearly three (3) run throughs of all of the seasons of Avatar: the Last Airbender that it took to write this. there are also major spoilers for season 12 of RPDR in the fic, so just a heads up. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: there's a very offhand comment about self-harm/suicide though none of it occurs in the fic. Harry makes said comment right after he reads gemma's texts towards the middle of the fic, so if it's a trigger for you, be sure to skip that paragraph. it starts with: "Harry sighed as he saw that the messages were from about half an hour prior, knowing that Gemma will have gotten antsy since then and that he’d be in for a major scolding as soon he called her." i'll be sure to bold that sentence so you know when the tw is about to come into play.
> 
> here's the [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3VxhgdFvVTguSHSqVPCpoR?si=h-E6xpIiQy-tvWDS_b50fw) that i made and listened to while writing and editing.

Harry bopped his head slightly as Taylor Swift's dulcet tones flooded his ears and _Dear John_ played gracefully through the old and static-y speakers of his truck. The vehicle bumped and jolted along the dirt path that led the man through the dense forest, populated by a good amount of cabins, some more worn down than others.

It was most definitely a ginormous change from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, and Harry was sure that Robin's cabin would be pretty much the complete antithesis of his own apartment in California.

But, perhaps, Harry thought as he mindlessly followed the dirt road, the complete opposite was exactly what he needed.

Harry had thought he had his life completely figured out. He was a chef at a highly rated restaurant, he had a lovely penthouse apartment with the most amazing view, and he had a gorgeous fiancée with whom he was prepared to spend the rest of his life.

All of that came crashing down when Harry walked into his apartment one night after a long and tiring shift at the restaurant, ready to relax and possibly have a cuddle with his girl. Instead, he had the absolute _pleasure_ of seeing Marisa perched on the marble-top island in the kitchen, with her personal trainer on his knees in front of her, mouth glued between her legs.

After a long screaming match, and Harry barely holding himself back from putting his fist through the smug bastard of a trainer's face, Harry ended up sitting on his sofa alone, clutching to Marisa's engagement ring and chugging a bottle of _Kinky Liquer_ whilst contemplating all of his life choices. Not only was his apartment tainted, but now he could barely look at a kitchen without the disturbing picture of Marisa's head thrown back with moans coming from her cherry red lips as _Cal the Trainer_ pleasured her with his tongue.

So, a month later found Harry using up three months of his vacation time, which had been racking up since he first procured his job at the restaurant six years ago. His last minute plan was to hide away in small town Maine whilst trying to decide how he was gonna move on with his new life alone while his ex-fiancée moved _in_ with her new life, aka her new trainer boyfriend.

The isolation would be good for him, he surmised silently as he took a sharp turn that, from Robin's directions, Harry knew would lead him straight to the cabin. He couldn't even stand being in a kitchen, never mind working ten hour shifts five days a week at the restaurant. A work-free summer was exactly what he needed in order to really think about what he was gonna do now that his entire life plan had been disrupted.

The only thing he found that he would be missing about LA were the gelato dates he had with his sister when their lunch breaks happened to coincide with each other. It had always been a huge perk that he worked down the street from Gemma so that they could meet up and take a stroll to have some gelato and chat before they had to get back to their respective jobs; Harry at the restaurant and Gemma at a well-respected law firm.

He would miss Gemma for the three months that he was away, but he knew that he was doing what was best for himself. He couldn't stay in his apartment— or even LA itself— without being reminded of Marisa's affair. 

So, as he pulled up to the rundown cabin, he let out a deep breath. Putting the truck in park and turning the key in the ignition, Harry opened the door and hopped to the ground, chelsea boots crunching on the dirt beneath them.

He was immediately hit by the musty scent of wet forest leaves and the rotting stench of the worn down cabin.

_Great_ , Harry thought bitterly as he went to the cab of the truck to retrieve his bags, _I'm gonna have to fix this up now, aren't I_?

His bitter thoughts remained as he made his way, luggage in hand, to the rickety steps of the cabin. It was just his luck that as soon as he put his weight onto the first step, his foot went crashing through it, causing his ankle to twist painfully.

" _Fuck_ ," Harry grumbled as he pulled his foot out of the wrecked stair. He surmised in annoyance that he'd have to either get that fixed or just avoid it for the rest of his stay in the small town.

With a shake of his head, Harry climbed up the remaining couple of steps, keen to watch how he distributed his weight so that he wouldn't end up falling through the porch itself.

As he crossed the moderately-sized porch, he let out a breath of relief, grateful for having been able to get to the front door without crashing through the rotting wood. Harry shouldered his duffel bag and let his suitcase lay abandoned at his feet as he found the cabin's key on his key ring and slid it forcefully into the keyhole.

It seemed as though the lock was a bit rusted, so it took a good bit of jiggling it around before Harry finally heard it click into place, causing him to give a small _whoop_ in celebration.

He turned the key to the left at the same time as he turned the doorknob as Robin had instructed him to do and, sure enough, the door swung open and crashed loudly into the wall behind it.

Harry cringed slightly at the loud sound and picked up his suitcase, venturing into the dimly-lit cabin and taking in a deep breath.

Immediately he was met with a smell of must, so strong that he gagged and coughed in an attempt to get the burning scent out of his nostrils.

Harry reached down, pulling the neck of his t-shirt up over his nose to try and filter the air before it couldfurther breach his nostrils and continue on its mission of flaming off what felt like every single nose hair he had. 

With a deep sigh of discontent, Harry began making his way through the cramped layout of the cabin and observing his new home for the rest of the summer.

Robin hadn't been to the cabin since he had married Harry's mother and moved in with her six years ago, which attested as to why the cabin looked as rundown as it did presently.

Silky webs decorated the uppermost corners of the walls and Harry dreaded to think that spiders may be making their home where he'd be sleeping for the next three months. Now, he wasn't scared of most things, but he _did_ have a deep rooted fear of _creepy-crawlies_ ever since Gemma had put one on his head when they were younger and it had decided to nest into his hair, making it near impossible to locate and remove.

With a shudder, Harry turned his attention elsewhere and his eyes landed on the furniture of the mini-living room decked out in plastic coverings. The plastic coverings were a good idea, Harry decided, because they were coated in a thick layer of dust that made Harry's nose twitch, tickling his nostrils even through the thin layer of his shirt that he still had covering it. If it weren't for the covering, the furniture would definitely have been ruined by the dust and Harry was grateful for the fact that Robin had the forethought to protect it.

Turning to where there were two doors along one wall, Harry walked toward them figuring that behind them was the bathroom and his bedroom, respectively.

Creaking one door open, Harry was met with the sight of a cramped bathroom, equipped with a dusty toilet, pedestal sink, and a small glass shower that looked as though it could use a good scrubbing down.

Harry sighed again, which seemed to have become a recurring action since he had parked his truck out front, and he just dreaded the amount of cleaning he sensed in his near future.

He backed out of the bathroom's door way, instead moving toward the second shut door that held the bed he was so desperate to collapse onto for a much needed nap.

When he opened the door, the rusty hinges screeched and Harry immediately saw a plastic covered mattress, covered in just as much dust as the living room furniture had been.

With a harsh breath blown through his nostrils, Harry dropped his duffle on the floor and let go of the handle of his suitcase, stalking up to the mattress. He reached out and gripped the corner of the plastic cover, ripping it unceremoniously from the thin mattress and throwing it on the floor. The dust probably flew everywhere but, at that moment, Harry couldn't care less. All he wanted to do was sleep off the long drive he had made from the airport and a little bit of dust would not stop him.

Sluggishly he stumbled over to his duffle bag, unzipping it and pulling a sheet from it's contents. He laid the sheet out on the bed and, as if his legs could no longer withstand the weight of his body, he collapsed face first onto the mattress.

The springs were digging into his chest and face, but he didn't care as he let his eyes drift shut slowly, the calming chirps of birds outside the window lulling him into a sweet, sweet slumber at long last. 

A few hours later, Harry was driving into the small town center of Canyon, Maine, in search of a bit of a snack to hold him over until he found the motivation to clean out the cabin's kitchen and go grocery shopping.

The bass of the song he was listening to vibrated through his speakers as he drove a tad under the speed limit in order to seek out some kind of food joint.

He spotted a small diner just up the road, but before he could pull into its parking lot, something else grabbed his attention.

M&S Bakery caught his eye and his stomach rumbled at the thought of a warm cup of coffee and a sweet treat. Back in LA he and Marisa were always on a strict diet of meat and veggies, so it was a rare occasion when he was able to let himself enjoy a bit of sugar without dealing with the crushing guilt of lying to his fiancée about it.

He felt a sense of petty satisfaction as he pulled over and parked in front of the bakery. It sort of felt like a fuck you directly in his ex and her gym-rat new beau's faces.

Turning the keys in the ignition, Harry killed the truck's engine and cut off Fleetwood Mac before checking to make sure there was no incoming traffic and sliding out of the vehicle.

He hastily walked around the truck and onto the sidewalk, stopping when he saw a small chalkboard showcasing the _goodie of the day_ at the bakery. That day's special was apparently a chocolate-orange muffin and just the thought of it had Harry's mouth watering.

With a newly found pep in his walk, Harry walked to the entrance of the bakery and pushed the door open, a friendly ring of a bell signifying his arrival to the workers and the customers of the establishment.

Harry strode easily towards where a large glass case displayed the bakery's many delicacies, each one looking more mouth-watering than the next. Though, as it be, none looked nor sounded as good as the _goodie of the day_.

Just as Harry was about to step up to the counter and order from the woman with dark bangs and a warm smile, a small weight crashed into his legs.

He looked down to see a small blonde boy pushing in front of him to place his hands upon the glass and press his nose up to it in order to better see the desserts.

"Theo!" A voice drawled tiredly with a rasp laced in his tone. "I've told you before that you can't cut people in line, it's not polite."

"Sorry Uncle Niall," the boy said, not bothering to remove his face from the display, ending up with his breath fogging up the glass. "But I wanted to see the desserts."

Harry turned around to see who he assumed was _Uncle Niall_. He was a stocky man with brunette hair, kind blue eyes, and an apologetic grin. "Sorry man, the kid just gets too excited sometimes."

Harry shook his head nonchalantly, giving the other man a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. I know that if I was a kid and saw all of these treats, I wouldn't be able to contain myself either."

Niall laughed loudly. "You're not wrong, but I'm still sorry about it. You can still go ahead and order first. Gotta teach the kid that he's not gonna get his way _all_ the time, no matter how much his mommy and daddy like to spoil him."

"Whatever you say," Harry chuckled before turning around to order his muffin from the woman behind the counter, but stopped short when he saw her— and a male worker that had come up next to her, both engaged in a conversation with Theo, warm grins set on their faces.

Harry turned back to Niall and looked behind him to make sure there wasn't a line being held up. When he saw that there was no one besides the brunette behind him, he said to the man in question, "eh, they look like they're having a good chat. Wouldn't want to interrupt, now would we?"

Niall laughed heartily as Harry came to stand next to him. "That's Mitch and Sarah. They own the place, hence the name, _M &S Bakery_. They got married last year and I'm pretty sure they've caught baby fever, so every time I bring Theo in, they fall all over themselves to talk to him."

"That's adorable," Harry surmised as he watched the man (—Mitch) slip Theo a cookie with a wink as Sarah reached over the counter to ruffle his blonde bowl cut. "I love babies, too."

"You got any?" Niall asked as he, too, watched Mitch and Sarah interact with his nephew, a broad smile on both of their faces.

"No, I don't," Harry answered as he spotted the ring sitting snuggly below the second knuckle of Niall's ring finger. "Do you and your wife have any?"

Niall broke out in a fit of uproarious cackles. He leaned down, resting his hands on his kneecaps as his laughter slowly fizzled out.

As the man straightened up, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye, Harry raised an eyebrow curiously. "I'll take that as a _no_?"

"Children are definitely not in my immediate future," Niall said with an amused grin that showed slightly crooked teeth. When Harry still looked confused, he went on, "Jade, my lovely wifey, and I are far too young for kids. Plus, I think we both like the idea of being the fun aunt and uncle much better. You know, all the perks of having a little one, but still being able to give them back to their parents at the end of the day."

Harry laughed loudly, feeling at ease with Niall's infectious smile and peppy personality. "Sorry I assumed, it's just that you're so good with your nephew I figured you must have some of your own."

Niall laughed again, something Harry was quickly realizing was a very common thing for the happy-go-lucky man to be doing. "That's okay, my wife and I are far too content with our lives to have any babies right now. I don't think I could give up staying out all weekend and sleeping till noon for anything at the moment

"I'm sorry to assume," Harry said with a small, apologetic smile.

"That's fine, mate," Niall waves off Harry's worries before pulling his cellphone out of the pocket of his jeans. "You wanna see a photo of her?"

Harry nodded eagerly. "Of course."

Niall did a bit of tapping and swiping on the screen of his phone before turning it around to face Harry.

When Harry's eyes focused on the photo, he could immediately tell how comfortable the two were in each other's presence. The pair had their arms wrapped casually around each other's shoulders, and they leaned into each other's bodies with a familiar ease as million-watt smiles lit up their faces.

It must've been taken a while back, as Niall had a bit of blonde at the tips of his hair and Harry could barely catch the glint of braces shining on his white teeth.

Turning his attention to the other person in the photo, Harry couldn't help but grin at how obviously in love Niall's wife was with him. It was shown through the loving glance that she casted up at him with her warm brown eyes and the fond grin that took over her pouty lips.

Harry felt a sharp pain in his gut at the picture of the (—obviously very happy) couple. Whether it was from the still hurting sting of Marisa's betrayal or just pure jealousy, he didn't know.

"You two make a lovely couple," Harry grinned uncomfortably, forcing himself to paint a faux smile onto his face so as to not offend his new acquaintance. "How long have you two been together?"

"About four years," Niall said with a smile much more genuine than Harry's own as he tucked his cell back into his pocket. "Since I was twenty-two and she was twenty-three."

"Wow, that's a pretty quick marriage, huh?" Harry surmised before cringing at how rude he was being.

Though Niall didn't seem to think anything of the rudeness as he just burst out into laughter, which seemed to be a frequent action of his. When he settled down enough to speak, he said, "it's just like— when you know you know, dude. And I've known since I first looked at her."

"That's really sweet," Harry smiled bitterly with thoughts of his own failed relationship. "I'd love to meet her one day soon."

Niall nodded in agreement. "Why don't you come down to my bar this Saturday? You could meet her and a few of our friends too; maybe make pals with them. You're new to town, right? You don't know anyone?"

Harry nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, just got in from LA yesterday actually."

"Wow, a big city boy," Niall grinned teasingly. "What made you move out to little, old Canyon?"

"Uh," Harry stammered, not knowing how much of his story was appropriate to tell to someone who was practically a stranger. "Just a tough breakup. I needed a change of scenery and my step-dad used to live out here. He's letting me stay in his cabin for the summer while I work out what I want to do with my life now."

Niall nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. Lost souls always do happen to find themselves in those cabins."

"Umm," Harry drawled, unsurely as he stared at Niall in confusion. "What exactly do you mean by _lost souls_?"

"Don't think too much into it," Niall laughed at the other man's confusion. "Just that I met my wife while she was staying in one of those cabins _looking for herself_ one summer."

"How did you two manage to make it work when she left after summer was over?" Harry asked curiously, leaning one hand against his hip.

"She actually decided to stay in town," Niall smiled softly, as if he was thinking of his wife in that moment, which Harry surmised that he probably was. "It was the greatest day of my life when she strolled into my bar and said she was staying. I had thought she left on the bus to go back home earlier that day. Biggest shock of my life to see her walk through that door, I tell ya."

Harry nodded, deep in thought about how much Niall and Jade must've loved each other for her to just pack up and move to be with him after only one summer. His thoughts were interrupted when Niall continued speaking.

"Once you come to this town, you find that it's not so easy to leave," Niall spoke with a fond tone in his voice. "Canyon isn't a place that one leaves behind easily."

"I guess we'll be able to test your theory come August," Harry spoke with a small grin, "because I'm set to leave on the twenty-ninth to get back to work in LA."

Niall smirked back in reply, "I guess we will, but mark my words, you'll end up finding something to make you stay. We all did."

Harry laughed, surprised at the man’s unwavering confidence in his statement. "We'll see."

Before Niall could say anything else, the pair was interrupted by his nephew running up and tugging on the brunette man's blue jeans.

"Uncle Nialler, Sarah and Mitch need you to give them money for my cookie!" Theo exclaimed, looking up at Niall with puppy dog eyes and an endearing grin equipped with a gap where a missing tooth should be.

"Alright buddy, let me just wrap up this talk with Harry and I'll be right up to pay," Niall said to his nephew with a fond smile and a ruffle of his hair before looking back up at Harry, "welp, duty calls, huh?"

Harry responded with a chuckle, "yeah, better go get the poor kid his cookie before he breaks out the tears."

Niall cringed. "Yikes, the crocodile tears are _not_ something I want to deal with right now."

And with one last grin, Niall guided Theo up to the counter to pay for his snack.

Harry let out a soft sigh as a small smile took over his face. It seemed that he'd already met someone nice in Canyon. Maybe he wouldn't spend the whole summer alone and miserable in Robin's cabin, after all.

So, Harry watched on as Niall placed his order to the pretty woman with dark bangs, Sarah, and handed over his card to pay with.

Then, Niall was guiding his nephew past Harry to an empty table with one hand on the boy's shoulder and the other clutching to a paper bag and coffee cup.

Harry turned his attention to Sarah as he waltzed up to the counter with a small smile aimed at the woman. After a minute or so of friendly conversation, Harry stepped away from the counter newly equipped with a steaming cup of coffee and a paper bag containing his well anticipated chocolate-orange muffin.

As he was getting ready to leave the bakery, Harry caught eyes with Niall, and decided to stop by the table the man had sat at with his nephew in order to say a quick goodbye.

As Harry arrived at the table, he noted with a barely concealed smile that Theo had already made a crumby mess out of his cookie. It took all Harry had inside of him not to laugh at the fact that Niall was faring no better, as he had already spilt drops of his coffee along the glass table and on his white t-shirt.

"Harry!" Niall greeted him jovially, dropping more of his coffee on the table as his arm moved in tandem with his exclamation. "Did ya wanna join the kiddo and me?"

Harry shook his head regretfully at the invitation and replied, "I wish I could, I really do, but I was planning on just eating in my truck while I drive. I have to find some kind of hardware store to order paint and other things to spruce up my stepdad's old cabin."

"Boy, have I got the perfect place for you," laughed Niall as he used an already stained napkin to wipe up his split drink. "If you head down the road about three or four miles, you'll come upon the dock and Payne General. We don't have a hardware store, but you can order just about anything you need from PG and have it shipped to your house. _Anything_ , I tell you, from paint to _s-e-x t-o-y-s_."

Harry felt his eyes widen and his jaw go a bit slack at the two words that Niall had spelled out directly in front of his decidedly _young_ nephew. "I, um- uh—"

"Don't worry," Niall chuckled with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He can't spell yet, and even if he could I can tell you that he'd have no clue what I'm talkin' about."

"Good to know," Harry chuckled slowly before glancing down at his watch. "I'd better get going if I wanna go to the store and then get home to get some cleaning done before it gets dark."

"Righty-o," Niall nodded in understanding, "well Payne's doesn't close till about eight, so you have plenty of time to get there."

"Thanks again, man," Harry smiled gratefully at Niall, "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, you better come down to the bar and meet the missus," Niall grinned teasingly up at Harry from where he was sitting. "I'm gonna tell her all about you and she'll be offended if you don't show up on Saturday."

"I'll be there," Harry laughed in return before quickly bidding Niall adieu (— not before the man could insist that they swap cell numbers) and heading out of the bakery and throwing a quick goodbye over his shoulder to Mitch and Sarah.

He quickly climbed into his truck, dumped his coffee into the cup holder and started up the engine. The rattling truck came to life along with the stale cold air from the AC and _The Chain_ from where it left off when Harry had previously killed the ignition.

He then turned his attention to the paper bakery bag, and pulled out the still-warm muffin, sinking his teeth into with a pleased moan. It was perhaps the best thing he had tasted in years after being confined to a strictly carb-free diet that was borderline torture.

Contentedly, Harry finished his muffin and put the truck out of park before making sure there was no oncoming traffic and pulling back out onto the road.

He began driving and (— like Niall had said) just a few miles up the road, Harry came upon a dock that was bustling with the commotion of people fishing, working on their boats, or just swimming with friends in the seemingly never ending lake.

Harry pulled into a small dirt-covered parking lot and efficiently killed his truck's engine again, this time cutting off JP Saxe and Julia Michaels's somber voices. He grabbed his rapidly cooling coffee, and swung his legs out of the truck, dropping onto the solid ground. He took a moment to appreciate the warm (— and sort of fishy) air, before he headed toward the homey looking general store.

Looking out at the horizon over the lake, he noted that the sky was beginning to fade from a deep blue to a dusky grey. He looked up with squinted eyes as the dark clouds rolled in and he only hoped that he could get in and out of PG before the inevitable storm started raging. 

He appreciated the beautifully carved, wooden porch swings before he walked through the screen door of the store and his nose immediately hit with pine scented and slightly musty air. He took a moment to look around and saw rows upon rows of all sorts of items, from candy to pesticides.

Niall wasn't joking when he said that PG carried literally everything, Harry surmised as he walked down an aisle that was stocked with beer and various brands of tequila.

But, there was no paint in sight. So when he saw the big _pay here!_ sign over the top of a cash register, he made a beeline for it.

Standing beneath the wooden sign was a broad man with a muscular upper body and hair shaved close to his scalp. As Harry approached him, he took note of the red and black plaid shirt the man was wearing and cringed as he was probably sweltering in the summer sun with his long sleeves.

"Hi! Welcome to Payne General, I'm Liam," the man (—Liam) greeted Harry with a genuine smile and the brown eyes of a puppy eager for a treat. "What can I do for you today?"

"Hi, Liam," Harry greeted the man amicably as he leaned against the counter. "I'm Harry."

"Great to meet you, Harry," Liam smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Can't say I've seen you around before. Are you new to Canyon?"

Harry nodded in response. "I am. I just moved down from California. I got here today actually."

"Oh wow," Liam said with wide eyes. "You must have more energy than I do. I'd be dead to the world for at least three days after a journey cross-country."

Harry laughed easily. It was appearing that the people of Canyon (—or at least the people he had met so far) were a lot friendlier and more amicable than Californians were.

"Yeah, I just passed out for a solid three hours and I slept on the plane a bit, but I'm still pretty dead on my feet," Harry replied as Liam began to wipe down the counter with a rag from his back pocket. "Actually I was trying to find a hardware store to order some paint, and a man I met at the bakery said that you have pretty much everything."

"And correct that man would be," Liam laughed heartily as he stepped out from behind a trailer revealing bootcut jeans and Timberlands on his feet. "It was Niall that told you, I assume?"

Harry furrowed his brows in slight confusion. "Yeah, it was, actually," he said in reply, "how did you know?"

Liam's laugh got a bit louder in response. "Well, for one, Niall seems to think it's his personal mission to talk up the store since he's a part-investor in it. And two, Niall is constantly at the bakery with his little nephew, Theo so I just figured it had probably been him."

As he spoke, Liam led Harry over to a counter that was off to the side of the cash register and had multiple thick binders stacked up on it.

"We actually don't have paint in store, but we have a binder full of swatches you can look through," Liam told him as he took one of the binders and slid it to the middle of the counter. "Just have a look and let me know what swatch number you want and we can get it ordered for you."

"Great, thanks," Harry said back as he flipped open the binder's cover, revealing sheets of different paint swatches. "I'll be sure to let you know when I find one."

"Sounds good," Liam said as he turned to head back to his register, "I'll be right over here if you need me."

Instead of responding verbally, Harry just gave a quick smile of appreciation before turning back to the binder and beginning to flip through the swatches. There were so many of them that it felt like ions later when Harry was finally pulled out of his concentration by the sound of the screen door slamming open and someone crashing into the store.

When he looked up, he was met by the sight of a soaking wet man holding a skateboard in one hand and a green dog leash in the other. Harry followed the dog leash with his eyes until coming upon a large, fluffy, black labradoodle that was in the process shaking the water out its curly fur. Then, Harry's gaze turned back to the dog's owner and was met by perhaps one of the most gorgeous men he'd ever seen.

Harry had always been open to being with either gender (— though he was more partial towards woman), but with his relationship with Marisa came him not having looked at any other woman or man in the last four years. But, now that he was looking, _boy_ did he like men.

He especially liked the look of this extremely wet man with his petite and slightly curvaceous figure, tattooed hands, and soaked brown fringe hanging limply over his tanned forehead. Concerned as to why the two were so soaking wet, Harry took a glance outside of the screen door and saw that it was, in fact, pouring outside. Damn, he hadn’t been able to beat the storm like he’d wanted to.

Before Harry could think anymore on the subject of the pretty boy, his gigantic dog, or the raging storm, Liam's voice rang out from where he was standing at the register.

"Louis!"

Ah, so _that_ was pretty boy's name.

"Hey, Leemo," the boy (—Louis) called back as he shook the water out of his hair with the hand that wasn’t holding the dog leash. "Long time no see, eh?"

Liam laughed. "Yeah, it’s been a long and hard forty minutes since we last saw one another."

Louis chuckled in return. "Yeah, I blame that on the fact that I got all the way home before realizing that I had no dog food left."

"Well that's no good," Liam replies as he walked out from behind the counter and approached Louis and his dog. He bent down and began to stroke the labradoodle's damp curls. "Big man's gotta eat, hasn't he?"

"He sure does," Louis laughed as he joined Liam in petting the dog, who seemed to be relishing in all of the attention by the looks of his lazy smile and panting tongue . "If I'm even ten minutes late in feeding him, he barks and whines until I fill the dish. I was contemplating just feeding him some of my pizza, but I don't wanna chance upsetting his stomach.

"I figured it was a nice day to take a quick ride on my skateboard into town with Cliff to get a small bag of food to tide him over until I can get a bigger one." Louis glanced down at his black vest (—which was clinging to his toned torso, Harry noted), then towards the window that revealed what was basically a torrential downpour, and then finally back to Liam. "But it seems like all I managed to do was catch the rain and get me and my dog soaked to the bone."

“I see that,” Liam chuckled as he took in the state of Louis’s hair and clothes and the peeved scowl on the man’s face. “But, luckily for you, I think that I have a towel and a sweatshirt in the back that you can dry off with and borrow.”

Louis began to shake his head in disagreement. “No, Li, I couldn’t ask that of you-”

“Nonsense,” Liam interrupted, already heading towards a doorway located to the left of his cash register. “You’ll catch your death if you stay in that. Just give me a holler if someone comes up to the register.”

Louis sighed defeatedly and nodded his head. “Will do, Payno, thanks.”

And with that, Liam turned on his heels and disappeared to get Louis his promised (—and slightly forced) towel and sweatshirt, leaving him and Harry alone. 

As mentioned before, Harry was partial to finding women more attractive than men, but Louis must’ve been the exception. For some reason, Harry couldn’t find the strength within himself to pull his eyes away from the shorter man’s defined cheekbones with the deliciously tempting rivulets of rainwater running down them and to the curve of his jaw. He was quick to banish those thoughts and pull his gaze up to Louis’s (— _godamnit_ , very striking) blue eyes. He couldn’t allow himself to think things like that about a stranger, especially so soon after his and Marisa’s split. 

“It’s just like me to take my skateboard instead of my car when the forecast is calling for rain.”

Harry was pulled back to attention by Louis's voice (— he had to wonder if the sexy rasp that clung to it was due to smoking or if it was natural) ringing out in the otherwise quiet store.

Harry floundered for something to say for a moment before his eyes landed on Clifford’s panting face and he finally said, “Well he _does_ look like he needs all the exercise that he can get, so maybe it was a good thing he got a bit of a walk, even in the rain.” 

Louis’s eyes widened in what appeared to be offense and Harry’s stomach dropped. 

“Are you calling my dog fat, dude?”

“N-no, I’m so sorry, I was just making a joke,” Harry scrambled in apology, and cringed when he saw that Louis’s icy glare wasn’t letting up. “I really didn’t mean to offend you, I swe-”

Louis interuppted Harry’s incessant rambling apology with a hearty laugh that revealed a piercing fit snugly inside Louis’s mouth above his white teeth (—Harry could vaguely place it as something referred to as a _smiley_ piercing). “I’m just playing with you, I promise. I know that Cliff’s out of shape. It’s because he’s gotten used to lounging around my apartment back in New York all day long like the little prince he likes to think that he is.”

Harry reluctantly let out a nervous chuckle. “Right, of course you were joking, sorry.”

“No need to apologize.”

Harry could have smacked himself ‘round the head over his little outburst of stupidness. Of course this stranger wasn’t actually offended over the fact that Harry made a joke out of his dog’s weight. How much more ridiculous could he possibly get?

“Right, sorry,” Harry apologized automatically before realizing what he had said. His eyes widened. “Oops.”

“Hi, I’m Louis,” Louis said back with a small, amused smile and a glint in his eyes. “I don’t think that I properly introduced myself before I started teasing you.”

Harry held out a hand to Louis, which the man grasped firmly and shook for just a moment too long. “I’m Harry.”

“Good to meet you, Harold.”

Before Harry could correct the man on his name, Liam was returning from the back room with a towel and sweatshirt in hand.

“Thanks, man” Louis gratefully to Liam as he took the two items. “If I just give you the money now, can you ring me up for Clifford’s food while I take these and get changed?”

“Sure can,” Liam nodded in affirmation as Louis dug in the pockets of his jeans to dig out a rumpled ten dollar bill before giving it to Liam and disappearing towards the back room with Clifford in tow. 

It was only a few minutes later when Louis returned with his hair sticking up in all directions (—presumably from rubbing the towel over his head to dry it) and drowning in a too-big sweatshirt emblazoned with _*NSYNC_ ’s faces in the middle. He handed Liam back the damp towel with a small smile on his face. “Thanks again, man, I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Liam gave Louis an apologetic as he handed the man his change and a small bag of dog food. “Sorry, Tommo, all we have is this size.”

“That’s okay,” Louis assured Liam as he grabbed the bag with the hand that wasn’t holding Clifford’s leash. “It’s good enough for now. I’ll have to stop at the grocery store and see if they have bigger bags at some point. Preferably when it’s _not_ pouring out and preferably in my car, not on my board”

Liam frowned apologetically. “I’d give you a lift home, but Leigh-Anne called out, so I’m the only one here till closing.”

“No worries, Payner,” Louis said with a wave of dismissal, but Harry noticed the upset glint in his eyes.

Before he even knew that he was opening his mouth, the words had already fallen off of his idiodic tongue. 

“I could give you a ride home?”

And... Why did he say that? That definitely was _not_ how you avoided catching inconvenient feelings for a handsome stranger when you were fresh out of a four year long, serious relationship. Harry was prepared to continue mentally berating himself for his dumb decision, but then Louis spoke up regarding his previous offer.

“Oh seriously?” He exclaimed, a bright smile taking over his face. “That would be perfect!”

_Shit_. There was no going back.

“Yeah, of course.”

So, that was how Harry found himself in his truck ten minutes later, navigating his way to Louis’s cabin (—which was surprisingly close to his own, actually), with the aforementioned boy in the passenger seat, and Clifford panting contentedly between them.

“And then if you just turn right up here, you’ll be there,” instructed Louis as he pointed to a semi-hidden dirt road off to the left. 

After Harry took the instructed turn, they were pulling up to a cabin (— which was decently bigger than the one Robin was letting him stay in) with the front porch lit warmly by lights that looked like they were nearly ready to burn out. 

“Thanks for the ride, Harold,” Louis said jovially with a big grin that showed off (— frustratingly adorable) white teeth. “I appreciate it. And so does Cliff, because he’s so fat that I don’t think he’d have been able to make it back without keeling over.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Hardy har har, very funny.”

“I like to think that I am,” Louis said in return, his eyes alight with mirth. “But, on a more serious note, it’s supposed to be really hot tomorrow. So, as a thanks, why don’t you come down and take a dip in the lake I’ve got behind my cabin.”

Louis was really testing his limits and Harry was nothing if not a man who was notoriously weak for a set of pretty blue eyes.

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” He said as a last ditch attempt to keep his burgeoning attraction for Louis at bay.

“Harry, I work at a bar twice a week, and other than that I just sit on my back porch in my boxers attempting to write shitty songs,” Louis said plainly with a raised eyebrow. “Your imposition would be greatly welcomed, if not encouraged.”

“I _guess_ that sitting on your back porch watching you write in your boxers sounds _pretty_ cool.”

And where the actual _fuck_ did that come from? Didn’t he just tell himself not even an hour ago that it was far too soon to be flirting with people after his breakup with Marisa? Never mind the fact that he was flirting with this man only two months after his ex cheated on him, but he was also flirting with a man who would be across the country from him come the end of summer when Harry inevitably made the trip back to LA. 

“Well, I’d be courteous enough to put on a shirt, _at least_ ,” Louis laughed as he tightened his grip on Clifford’s leash as the dog tried to prance back to his house without his owner. “But in all seriousness, I’d love to have you over for a swim and a chat. It’s always nice to make new friends.”

“You’re absolutely right. It might be nice to have more friends than the whopping two that I’ve made so far,” Harry quipped lightly. “But, yeah, I guess it couldn’t hurt to come by tomorrow afternoon; could even be kind of fun.”

So fucking weak. He was kind of pathetic, really.

“Great,” Louis smiled, and Harry was reluctant to admit to himself that the smile sort of lit up the fucking dark. “Think you can navigate your way back to my humble cabin around— oh say… 3:00 tomorrow afternoon, Ranger Rick?”

Harry laughed. “I can sure try.”

“Good,” Louis said back, his smile not having faded. “Guess I’ll see you then, Ranger.”

Harry watched as Louis closed the rusted truck door with a small _squeak_ , giving one final wave of his hand before turning on his heels and letting Clifford lead (— more like drag) him up his porch steps. Harry waited until Louis entered the cabin and the porch lights flickered off before he put his truck into drive, turning around in Louis’s spacious driveway and pulling back onto the poorly lit dirt road that led back to the main (— but still poorly lit) road. 

As he drove, the wind blowing his hair around from where a few curls had fallen out of his clip and bandana combo, Harry heaved out a great sigh. It wasn’t gonna be easy to keep his burgeoning feelings for Louis at bay; it wasn’t gonna be easy at all. 

The next morning found Harry back at the M&S Bakery, once again ordering their _goodie of the day_ (— a virgin margarita cupcake garnished with a quarter slice of lime and green sprinkles), but this time paired with a cup of berry hibiscus iced tea instead of coffee. 

Instead of rushing out the door and eating in his truck, Harry decided that he had long enough to sit down and actually enjoy his treat. He was sort of tempted to text a picture of it to Marisa as a fuck you, but he doubted that the woman would do anything more than just send back the dreaded ‘ _k_.’, before blocking his number. Besides, he wasn’t that petty in the first place. Sort of. 

Harry was pulled out of his very _non_ -petty thoughts when someone standing next to his table cleared their throat. He looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see Niall standing before him with a clear cup filled to the brim with something that looked suspiciously like a mimosa (— but could’ve very well just been orange juice with berries in it) clutched in his pale hand. This time, Harry noted, the man was sans his nephew. 

“Hey, Niall,” Harry greeted the man amicably, “long time no see.”

Niall (— as per usual) laughed upon hearing that before saying something reminiscent to what Liam had said to Louis the previous evening. “Yeah, it's been a dreadful twenty-four hours without seeing your pretty face, man.”

And... Harry could get used to that. _That_ being a friendship that was easy. Harry had known Niall for legitimately one day, and it already felt like they’d been friends for years. It seemed that Niall’s outgoingness and Harry’s strong need to make friends made for an easy connection between the pair. It was kind of like how it was with Louis the previous night. Maybe there was something in the Canyon water that made all of the residents extremely easy to talk to and befriend in less than one day. 

“Same to you,” Harry responded before acknowledging the man’s lack of a small blonde child clinging to his legs. “No kiddo today?”

“Nope,” Niall shook his head. “Mama and Papa Bear both have the day off of work, so they’re stuck with him.”

“Day off then?”

“Unfortunately, not,” Niall sighed. “I may be off little monster duty, but the bartender that I had on shift tonight called out on account of a _112_ degree fever, so I’m stuck on bar duty.”

“A-are they okay?” Harry asked, his brows furrowing in concern. “I’m pretty sure a 112 degree fever is enough to kill someone.”

Niall gave a slight roll of his eyes. “I have it on good authority— and by good authority, I mean their Facebook— that they were out getting smashed in a club in Portland for their friend’s birthday and just didn’t want to come into work hungover.”

“Okay, but isn’t a 112 degree fever a bit of an overkill for calling out of work?”

“Miles is _not_ the sharpest tool in the shed,” Niall replied with a laugh, the irritation draining from his cobalt eyes. “He once told me that he had to attend his aunt’s funeral and couldn’t make it into work that night, and then—get this— his supposedly dead auntie walked in for drinks not even twenty minutes after he called.”

“Some people, huh?, ” Harry laughed as he looked up at Niall.

“Tell me about it,” Niall said before his eyes lit up. “Speaking of the bar, why don’t you stop down this afternoon for a bit of noon-drinking and a hang out sesh with Ol’ Nialler?”

“I’d love to, but I actually have plans for the afternoon,” Harry explained regretfully as the gleam in Niall’s eyes diminished a bit at his rejection, “I met someone at PG and gave him a lift home. He invited me to his cabin today to hang out and take a dip in the lake as thanks.”

“That’s a little… odd,” Niall responded slowly with eyes narrowed in what looked to be a mixture of suspicion and concern. “Are you sure he’s not, like, a murderer?”

“I’m hoping not,” Harry laughed nervously. “I know he just recently got to town, but I think he’s been here a bit longer than I have. Maybe you’ve met him? His name is Louis.”

“Tommo!” Niall exclaimed suddenly, the worry melting from his features and giving way to something that Harry could only decipher as fondness. “Don’t worry, you’re safe with him, Harry. He helps me out at the bar; he has everytime that he’s visited once he turned twenty-one. Even before he was legal he would help out by sweeping the floors and collecting glasses with me back when Dad ran the place.”

“Oh, so you’ve known him a while then?” Harry asked the brunette with a curiously quirked eyebrow.

Niall nodded as he shifted his weight on his feet and reached out to lean his free hand against Harry’s table. “Yeah, his family used to stay here during the summers, so I’ve known him since we were teenagers. It was only him that came down this year, though. Haven’t gotten a chance to ask him where the rest of the Tomlinson-Deakin brood is yet.” 

“Tomlinson-Deakin? Is that Louis’s last name?” Harry questioned. “I’ve heard both you and Liam call him _Tommo_ so I kind of figured that was his last name.”

“Tommo is just a nickname,” Niall responded. He paused to take a swig of his maybe-mimosa. “For Lou and four of his sisters, their last name is just Tomlinson and then for his mom, stepdad, and two youngest siblings it’s Deakin.”

“Wow, lots of siblings, huh?”

“Yeah, Lou has a _huge_ fam, that’s for sure,” Niall said with a nod. “It suits him well though. From what I’ve seen he’s always been really good with them. 

Harry nodded absentmindedly. He had always had a certain inclination to people who loved their family. That was why he’d always found it odd that he had connected well with Marisa considering she was an only child who only saw her parents every other Christmas. And, whenever she had come to one of Harry’s family gatherings, she had always looked mildly uncomfortable when the younger children in attendance would approach her and Harry asking them to play. 

“Anyways,” Niall said, pulling Harry from his thoughts, “you have any time for a quick chat before going to meet up with Lou for your lake date?”

“Not a date,” Harry mumbled, feeling his cheeks darken with a touch of embarrasment. He took a moment to compose himself by pulling the lime quarter from his cupcake and popping it in his mouth, biting off the fruit and letting the peel fall back onto the table. As he chewed, he peeked at his watch to check the time. Once he swallowed, he lowered his wrist and continued speaking. “But, no, I actually should be going. I got distracted yesterday and never ended up ordering the paint I needed from PG. And I have to stop at the supermarket beforehand as well to get something.”

“Well then,” Niall said with a crooked smile spread across his face, “I guess I’ll be getting out of your curly hair, then.”

And with that, Niall said a quick goodbye (— of course, not without reminding Harry that he’d better have his ass at the bar tomorrow night), throwing a jaunty wave over his shoulder and causing his drink to slosh a bit down his arm. 

Not even five minutes after Niall left, Harry was sticking a five dollar bill in the tip jar, calling a goodbye to Mitch, Sarah, and Adam (— another employee whom he had met whe he walked in earlier), and following the man’s path out of the exit and onto the street. When he got to his truck, he stuck the tea in the sticky cup holder and began his journey back to PG for the second time in just as many days.

When he arrived and hopped out of his truck, he approached the screen door, pushing it inwards and stepping out of the scorching sun. 

The icy cool breeze that came from the fan by the door was a welcome difference from the sweltering heat of the mid-morning sky and Harry gratefully wiped the remaining sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

“Harry!”

Harry looked up to see Liam grinning at him from across the store, a calloused hand raised in greeting as a handsome man stood beside him, his russet gaze curious upon Harry’s face. 

Harry smiled back as he approached Liam and the other man. He had to admit that the man was unfairly gorgeous, though a bit too put together to be his type. He preferred a less polished person who he could be goofy and a bit messy with; another reason why it was a surprise to him that he got so far into a committed relationship with Marisa. 

Once Harry reached the register, Liam spoke with his smile still gleaming in place. 

“Harry! Welcome back,” he said gleefully before gesturing to the man next to him. “This is my husband, Zayn.”

“Hi,” Zayn said, his curious gaze turning into an amicable grin that tugged on the black ring nestled snugly against his bottom lip. He reached his tattooed hand out and Harry took it to shake firmly. “Good to meet you, man.”

“You too,” Harry said in return as they released hands. 

“What are you doing back so soon, then?”

Harry turned to face Liam who was mindlessly wiping down the counter in front of him with a rag and a spray-bottle of cleaning solution. “Oh, I actually got so caught up when Louis came in and needed a ride that I forgot to put in my order for paint.”

“Oh right!” Liam exclaimed as his brown eyes lit up. “And how did the two of you end up getting along?”

“Pretty well actually,” Harry said with a nod as he remembered his scintillating banter with the shorter man in his truck the previous night. “He invited ‘round his to swim in the lake as a thank you.”

“Oh, that’ll be good fun,” Zayn said, his voice dripping over his lips like pure honey, sounding like what Harry could only describe as pure sex. “But, I have to warn you, Clifford loves to jump on you and practically drown you.”

“Oh, you already know Louis?” Harry questioned in interest and was met by Zayn and Liam nodding in confirmation. “Have you known him long?”

“I’ve known him since we were kids when he and his family would visit Canyon for the summer,” Liam replied. “Probably since we were around thirteen.”

“Same as Niall, then?” When Liam nodded in confirmation, Harry turned to Zayn. “How about you Zayn? Same as Liam and Niall?”

“No,” Zayn shook his head. “Lou and I met in college. He was my roommate and I actually came to Canyon with him and his family over one of our summer breaks and just ended up falling in love with the place.”

“Ahem,” Liam coughed pointedly as he sent Zayn a look, “fell in love with the town among _other_ things, right?

Zayn’s eyes widened as he exclaimed deviously, “ _oh_ , you’re right Liam! I fell in love with Marge’s honey from the farmer’s market, as well! I just had to move here because I couldn’t bear to have my pancakes without it any longer.”

“Fuck off, you twat,” Liam huffed and rolled his eyes as he lightly shoved Zayn’s shoulder before turning to face Harry. “Now, you said you needed to put in an order for paint?

Harry nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, please.”

“Do you remember the name of the paint or it’s swatch number?” Liam asked as he turned to the old desktop computer set up next to the register.  
“It was called Pale Daffodil, I believe,” Harry replied to Liam and the man began typing rapidly on the keyboard, fingers flying across the buttons.

After a few minutes, Liam whooped victoriously. “Got it right here. Didja want one can or two?”

“Two if you could, please.”

After a few more moments of typing, Liam looked up with a grin. “You’re all set, Harry. It should be here in a week or two, and you can just pay when it comes in or you can pay for it now.”

“You might as well just ring me up for it now,” Harry decided as he pulled his wallet out of the pocket of his jeans. As he was sliding out his debit card, he noticed a small tin pail of dog biscuits on the counter in front of him. He pulled a couple out and set them on the table in front of him. “Go ahead and throw these on the order, as well.”

“Oh, you have a dog?” Liam inquired as he entered the price of the biscuits into the register before slipping them into a small plastic bag. 

Harry shook his head as he swiped his card and began to go through the process of following all of the steps that popped up on the EFT terminal. 

“Then why’re you buying dog treats?” Liam laughed in confusion as the transaction was completed and Harry’s receipt was printed..

Zayn then nudged his husband a bit harshly and sent him a look that Harry was unable to decipher. “ _Lou_ has a dog, you big dummy.”

“Yeah, I was planning on picking up wine for Louis at the supermarket and figured it was only fair if I got Clifford something, too,” Harry explained as he took the bag from the counter. “Didn’t want him to feel left out.”

Zayn and Liam shared another look that was indecipherable to Harry before Liam turned back to him, handing over the receipt. “You’re all set, Harry. I hope you have fun at Louis’s. Tell him me and Z say ‘hi’.” 

“Will do,” Harry smiled before saying a quick goodbye and leaving PG, dog treats in hand. 

All of the looks that the couple had shared wasn’t lost on Harry’s part, but he didn’t really have the time to sit in PG and try to decipher them because he still had to run to the grocery store before he went to Louis’s house

So with that, Harry made his way back to his truck which he drove to the local supermarket. While there shopping for wine, he spotted a gorgeous looking platter that consisted of a rainbow of fruit, complete with a strawberry yogurt dip tucked snugly in the middle. After checking the price, Harry decided that it was worth splurging on and picked it up, placing it in his basket alongside the large bottle of mango-strawberry moscato Arbor Mist. 

The next couple of hours before he was due at Louis’s cabin, Harry found himself lazing about and staring at the peeling, faded walls of the cabin and yearning for his paint to arrive soon so that he could fix it up a bit. He wasn’t going to be in Canyon for long, but he’d rather feel as comfortable and at-home as he possibly could while he was there. 

When the clock struck 2pm, Harry decided that it was finally time to force himself up and get ready to leave.

For a solid fifteen minutes, he stood staring at his clothing spread out atop his bed. He couldn’t decide if he should just wear his swim trunks to Louis’s cabin initially, or dress in his normal clothes and bring his trunks to change into. Eventually, when he caught sight of what time it was, he just bit the bullet and pulled on his neon yellow trunks (— which Gemma had once so eloquently dubbed as his _highlighter booty shorts_ ) and a flowy button up shirt.

After dressing, he gave himself one last glance over in the mirror (— he wasn’t making a huge effort in his appearance, he just wasn’t, _okay_?) before snatching his keys off the hook that hung next to the front door and making his way out to his truck.

A short drive, a few near-wrong turns, and precisely three Taylor songs later, Harry was once again pulling up to a vaguely familiar cabin that he recognized as Louis’s. As soon as the engine was cut, he knew that he didn’t have to worry about whether or not he was at the right cabin, because with the lack of _Delicate_ blasting through his speakers, he could clearly hear Clifford barking like a maniac from the back yard.

Harry quickly snatched the reusable cloth bag that held the wine, dog treats, and fruit platter from the passenger seat before hopping out of his truck and beginning to make his way to the front porch. Before he was even halfway up the steps, the screen door was swinging open and Louis was stepping out, clad only in a damp pair of sea blue trunks with his soaked fringe plastered to his forehead and dripping down his slick skin.

Before Harry could dwell for too long on the tattoos covering Louis’s sun-tanned skin and the glint of metal poked through one of his pink nipples (— God was _really_ testing his self control in that moment), the man was speaking.

“Ranger Rick!” He greeted Harry jovially, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “You found your way back to me after all, huh?”

“It seems so,” Harry smiled back as he finished climbing the steps and approached Louis. Closer up, Harry could clearly make out the small silver ring that was fit snugly through Louis’s left nipple, and he could confidently say that piercings had never appealed to him more than they did in that very moment. 

“Well, come on through to the back,” Louis replied, stepping to the side and allowing Harry to enter the cabin.

Harry forced himself to pull his mind out of the gutter and off of Louis’s piercing, instead deciding to take a quick look around the cabin as Louis guided him through it.

Immediately, Harry noted that the cabin was much homier than the one he was currently staying in. Whereas Robin’s cabin was all plastic-coverings and dust, Louis’s was all plush (— yet semi-worn down) furniture and the floor was completely devoid of dust-bunnies. While Harry’s walls were dull and peeling, Louis’s were vibrant and adorned with pictures of a large, happy family. The smiling faces of what Harry assumed to be Louis’s siblings made Harry miss Gemma and he resolved to give her a call soon.

In no time at all, Louis had led Harry to a sliding glass door that opened to a deck overlooking a wide expanse of green grass and a moderately sized lake with a small pier jutting into it. The sight of the surrounding forest reflecting onto the water was gorgeous and Harry had to fight himself over the urge to whip out his phone and take a picture of it for _the ‘gram_. 

“Wow,” he voiced aloud to Louis as the man pulled the door open with a slight squeak, motioning for Harry to step outside. Harry complied and when Louis joined him on the deck he continued speaking, “the view is stunning.”

“Definitely,” Louis replied with a glint in his blue eyes, his gaze never leaving Harry’s face. His eyes fell to the bag clutched in Harry’s sweaty hand. “What’ve you got there, Ranger?” 

“Oh! I almost forgot that I had brought anything,” Harry exclaimed as he lifted the bag up and set it on a glass table next to a tall pitcher of what looked to be green lemonade with slices of kiwi floating in it. He then reached into the bag, pulling the bottle of Arbor Mist from it, followed by the fruit platter. 

Louis’s eyebrows lifted practically to his hairline as he surveyed the huge bottle of wine that Harry had brought. “Guess we’re boozing up then, eh Haz?”

Harry refused to admit that the nickname made him feel all floaty and fluttery inside. He just refused.

“I wouldn’t quite call drinking Arbor Mist boozing up, but sure,” Harry chuckled, forcing his mind to focus on anything other than the nickname that Louis had just bestowed upon him. He gestured to the green concoction in the pitcher. “And what do we have here? Leprechaun piss?”

“Clever, clever,” Louis replied through his laughter. “No Leprechaun piss for you today. It’s just some kiwi lemonade that I made quickly because the only other thing I have is beer, and I didn’t know if you drank.”

He then glanced down at the Arbor Mist that Harry had clutched in his hand. He raised a teasing eyebrow. “Guess I know now, though.” 

“Shut the fuck up,” Harry laughed as he set the bottle down and released his grip on it’s neck. “Now do you have any cups so that we can _booze up?_ ”

“I actually _do_ have some cups,” Louis said with the mischievous look back on his face, this time in full force. “Funnily enough, I typically use cups to drink out of, so I do have one or two lying around somewhere.”

Before Harry could respond, Louis was spinning on his heels and going back into the house, leaving Harry behind standing awkwardly on the porch. He took a second to glance around and admired the multiple plants that lined the deck. They were a bit wilted, but Harry could appreciate the effort on Louis’s part, as Harry had the blackest thumb on the planet when it came to gardening. 

He looked out to the lake next, eyes falling upon a black blur racing through the shallow end of the lake, kicking up water in his wake. Harry was surprised that Clifford hadn’t run up to greet him, especially because of the raucous noise that the dog had been making when he had pulled into the driveway, but Harry just surmised that he was too busy chasing butterflies and bees that he didn’t quite care about his house’s visitor. 

Soon enough, Louis was returning to the porch with two glass cups in hand. When he handed Harry one of them, Harry looked closer and saw the name _Daisy_ hand painted across the surface. “Is Daisy your sister?”

“Yep,” Louis nodded as he snatched up the pitcher of lemonade and filled his glass to the brim while Harry opted for popping open the Arbor Mist. “One of five. And a brother.”

Harry whistled lowly. “Wow, that’s a lot. I couldn’t imagine having more than my sister.”

“Older or younger?” Louis questioned curiously before bringing the lemonade to his lips and sipping lightly. He sat down at the glass table and motioned for Harry to join him. 

Harry did, sitting down in the seat across from him and leaning back comfortably. “Older. I’m the baby of the family.”

“Ah, see, now I can’t relate to that,” Louis chuckled, grinning across at Harry. “I’m the oldest in my family. We’re pretty much opposites, aren’t we?”

“Opposites attract though, right?” Harry replied, the words slipping between his lips before he could reign them back in. He really needed to learn how to get a handle on his brain-to-mouth filter before it got him in trouble. “Not that I’m saying I’m attracted to you.”

Upon seeing Louis’s dumbstruck and slightly offended expression, Harry rushed to continue spewing his word vomit an an attempt to make himself sound less stupid. “Not that you’re not attractive, because you are! You’re _gorgeous_ , really-”

Harry was cut off by Louis’s uproarious cackle. The man slapped his knee and bit his bottom lip in what Harry assumed was a failed attempt to stifle his laughter. “God, you’re so easy to wind up, curly.”

“Curly?” Harry questioned, his face a burning red. “Between that and _Ranger Rick_ I don’t know if you even know my real name.”

Even though it had been a joke, Louis decided to reassure him that he did in fact know his name. “Of course I know your name, _Harry_. Nicknames are just kind of my thing. Formal names are only for serious conversations and people I hate.”

“So when you call me Ranger Rick it means that you don’t hate me?” Harry laughed easily, Louis’s genuine smile lulling him into a sense of eased comfort. 

Louis nodded. “Yeah, I definitely don’t hate you. I quite like you, actually”

Harry wouldn’t admit that his heart did a flip-flop upon hearing that. Sweet, charming Louis Tomlinson would not be the one to break down the walls that he had so painstakingly and meticulously built up around his heart after Marisa. He didn’t think he would be able to stand the heartbreak that came with the end of summer and having to leave Canyon (— and inevitably Louis) behind. So, he would be friends with this gorgeous man, and _nothing else_. 

“G-Good,” Harry stammered, his blush coming back in full force. “Would hate for you to dislike me.”

“I’m sure you would,” Louis laughed, shooting Harry a quick wink. He quickly downed the last of his lemonade before slamming his glass down on the table. “Now, why don’t we head on down to the lake with Cliff? I’m sweating my fucking balls off.”

Hours later, the sun is setting over the trees and casting a stunning orange and pink glow onto the lake. Harry was sprawled out of the top step of the porch with Louis sitting next to him and the platter of fruit that Harry brought situated between them. 

Louis was completely _demolishing_ the strawberries and grapes, washed down with the last of the kiwi lemonade, whilst Harry was downing the Arbor Mist and picking at the melon and pineapple that Louis had been avoiding. Cifford was spread out on the grass below them, loudly munching on the treats that Harry had brought him from PG. 

As the light began fading from the sky, Harry decided that it was probably time that he got going. 

“I should probably head off before it gets too dark,” He said to Louis as he pushed himself up with one hand, holding his glass with the other. Louis quickly followed him, tipping a bit of lemonade out the side of his cup, sloshing it onto his bare feet. “I had a hard enough time getting here and I don’t wanna get lost in the woods in the middle of the woods at night.”

“Scared, Harold?” Louis laughed as he bent over to pick up the sticky fruit platter. Harry most definitely did _not_ look as his ass. He straightened back out and said, “I think you may have watched one too many horrors movies.”

Harry chuckled back. “Hey, don’t make fun of me. _The Human Centipede_ really fucked me up as a kid.” 

“Watching people get their mouths sewn to each others’ assholes can do that to a person, I guess,” Louis smirked, setting his glass on the table, but keeping the fruit platter in his clutch. “So I guess you better head out so you don’t get abducted and forced to eat someone else’s shit.”

“ _Heeeey_ ,” Harry drawled in faux offense, his eyebrows drawn together in the middle. “How do you know that I wouldn’t be the one eating the dog food?”

“Because you’re more of the ass eating type.”

Harry’s eyes flew open so wide that, in the back of his mind, he spared the thought that they may just pop out of his head all together. He couldn’t quite believe his ears. “Uh-”

“I’m so sorry!” exclaimed Louis, his freckled cheeks flushing red with embarrassment and his cobalt eyes wide with apology. “I seriously don’t know what I was thinking or why that came out of my mouth. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Harry shook his head slightly. “No, it’s okay, don’t sweat it. I know what it’s like to have no filter.”

“Are you sure? I really am so-”

Harry cut Louis off. “Seriously. It’s forgotten. But, I mean you aren’t wrong.”

Louis’s brows furrowed in confusion, his cheeks still tinged a pretty strawberry-pink color. “I wasn’t wrong about what?”

Harry smirked with a sudden burst of confidence. “I do like to eat a bit of ass every once in a while.”

Louis’s jaw dropped and Harry couldn’t help but to chuckle a bit in return. It wasn’t like he had lied; he _did_ enjoy eating ass. He hadn’t done it in years but, from what he remembered, he thoroughly enjoyed the act.

Louis’s expression suddenly flipped its switch and he was left bowled over and cackling like a witch on Halloween. When the laughter died down, Louis stood straight and wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye. “Well, Mr. Ass Eater, why don’t we pack up your fruit and booze and send you on your way so you don’t get kidnapped by some German surgeon who wants to do his little bum experiments on you.” 

Harry couldn’t help but to let out a manly giggle. “Yeah, I’d better. Bum experiments don’t sound all that appealing right now.”

“Alright, I’ll just pack up your fruit in a plastic bag because it’s a bit sticky,” Louis replied with a slight laugh as he led Harry through the sliding door and into the kitchen. “Then I’ll walk you to your truck.”

“Oh no, That’s not necessary,” Harry shook his head as he watched Louis reach into a drawer, pulling out a plastic bag. “And you can keep the fruit. I think you’ll eat more of it than I will.”

“You sure?”

Harry nodded. “Completely.”

Louis waved his hand toward the Arbor Mist in Harry’s grasp and said, “then if I keep the fruit, I insist that you take the booze.”

Harry let out a long and overexaggerated sigh. “ _Oh, if you insist_.”

“You act as though keeping it is such a hardship on your behalf,” Louis chuckled, his eyes bright and shining in the fading daylight. 

“And _you_ act as though I’m some kind of alcoholic,” Harry smirked back, his eyes shining with mirth. Upon Louis letting out an impressed laugh at his quip, Harry said, “Guess we both have some humor, huh?”

“Guess so,” Louis continued chuckling slowly. “I guess so.”

And with that, Louis guided Harry toward the front door, following him all the way to his truck before pausing as Harry opened the driver’s side door. 

“Hey,” Harry said as a thought popped into his mind. “I’m gonna be at Niall’s bar tomorrow so he can introduce me to some of his friends. Maybe you would want to come, as well?”

Louis nodded. “Yeah, Liam mentioned to me that there would be an open mic night. I wasn’t too keen on going into my place of work on one of my nights off, but if you’re gonna be there then count me in.”

Harry felt an unflattering blush take over his face. He thanked whoever was listening that the fading sunlight most likely hid the cotton candy-esque hue staining his cheeks and even if Louis _did_ see it, he could just chalk it up to a mild sunburn from swimming all day. 

“Great!” Harry exclaimed a little too enthusiastically, trying to disguise his inner turmoil. “I’ll ask Ni what time we should meet up at and then I’ll let you know.”

Louis smirked. “How are you gonna do that without my number? You gonna navigate your way back to my cabin, Ranger?”

Harry’s blush only deepened. He pulled out his phone and held it out in front of him. “Didn’t think about that, I guess. Put in your number?”

“Of course,” Louis said as he snatched the phone from Harry’s hand, his teasing smirk melting into something more resembling a soft grin. He tapped away on the screen before holding the phone up and pulling a funny face. Once he was done, he handed it back to Harry. “There. Number and contact photo is locked and loaded. You’re all set to shoot me a text when you know the details of the little _bar excursion_ that Nialler is planning.”

“Will do,” Harry said with a slight grin as he took the phone back from Louis, itching to look at the picture the man had just taken. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“You will,” Louis replied with a nod. His gaze fell to the half empty bottle of Arbor Mist in Harry’s hand. “Are you okay to drive? You polished off half of that bottle pretty much on your own.”

Harry nodded in reassurance. “Definitely. I’ve driven on far more Arbor Mist than this, I promise you that.”

Louis chuckled upon hearing Harry’s statement. “Okay, okay. Please just text me when you get home, though, or else I’ll worry that you crashed into a tree.” 

Upon hearing Louis say that, Harry felt a warm tingle settle into the bottom of his stomach. It was nice to know that Louis cared about his well being despite the two only having met the day prior. “I will. As soon as I pull in the driveway.”

“Better make that as soon as you get in the cabin and lock the door,” Louis said, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. “Who knows what kind of creeps could snatch you up during the walk from your truck to the door?”

“You’re never gonna let that go are you?”

“No I’m not, Mr. Human Centipede.”

Harry shook his head with a laugh. “You’re something else, Louis, you know that?”

“That’s what my mom likes to tell me,” Louis replied with a quick (— and dare Harry say, _flirtatious_ ) wink of his eye. 

Harry shook his head fondly. “Alright, I really ought to be going now, though, because knowing my luck I _will_ get abducted and experimented on.”

Louis laughed. “Okay, I’ll let you leave, I guess. See you tomorrow at Horan’s.”

Harry nodded with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

And with that, Louis was giving Harry a quick wave and heading off towards his cabin where Clifford waited behind the screen door with a drooling smile. 

Harry breathed out deeply and climbed into his truck, shutting the door behind him. He watched and waited until Louis was back in the cabin with the door closed and the porch light flicked off before he dropped his head onto the steering wheel with an audible _thud_. 

The night had gone so extremely well that it made it hard to remember that he had only known Louis for a solid day and a half and _not_ the ten years that it felt like. It also made it easier to forget the pain that he felt each time Marisa’s name or pretty brown eyes popped into his head. This _stranger_ made him feel lighter than air and like anything was possible by just flashing him the hint of a freaking smile. 

No matter what, Harry resolved, he had to remember that he and Louis could only be friends. Not only because of how fresh his break up was, but because he wasn’t staying in Canyon forever and when the end of August came, he would be forced to return to reality and his life in LA. He couldn’t allow himself to have anything more than a friendship with Louis because a cross-country long distance relationship would never work, and he wouldn’t let his heart be broken again. 

With a heaving sigh, he forced his head back up and started his truck, pulling out of Louis’s driveway and making the short journey back to his own cabin. He drove absentmindedly along the dirt roads, and before long he was pulling back into his own dimly lit driveway. 

He forced himself to sluggishly park the truck, dragging himself out of it and to the porch, struggling for a second to get the key into the hole before finally letting himself in and toeing off his shoes. 

He pulled his tired limbs to his bedroom, barely remembering to pull off his damp swim trunks and shirt before collapsing face first and naked into his bed. It was too warm to use his blankets, so he just laid on top of them, relishing in the light breeze that drifted in through the cracked window. 

And with that, he began to drift off with thoughts of blue eyes, caramel hair, and thin pink lip infesting his dreams. 

The next morning found Harry slouched over on a rickety chair on the front porch, clad in only boxers, pink sunglasses and a glare directed towards the sun. He was feeling a touch of a hangover and the bright rays that decided to beat down on his face relentlessly were not helping whatsoever. He took a swig of the lukewarm Arbor Mist clutched in his sweaty palm and held his phone up close to his face, eyes straining to see the screen through his glasses’ fucsia lenses. The screen showed a couple of messages that he’d received earlier that morning from his sister.

_**GEMS to HAZ:** hey loser, when can you call me? i miss your ugly froggie face._

_**GEMZ to HAZ:** hellooooo? are you still asleep? the clock app says it’s 11:35 in maine, wake the fuck UP. your nephew wants to see his stinky uncle’s face._

**Harry sighed as he saw that the messages were from about half an hour prior, knowing that Gemma will have gotten antsy since then and that he’d be in for a major scolding as soon he called her.** He genuinely didn’t want to call his sister; not because he didn’t want to see her face (— he really _did_ ), but because of the amount of mollycoddling that she and his mother had been doling out on him since his and Marisa’s rough split. It was as if they thought he would slit his wrists at the tiniest bout of sadness. 

Deciding with a sigh that he couldn’t avoid her wrath any longer without it getting worse, Harry pulled up Gemma’s contact info, complete with a recent photo of the two of them and the name Gems with a string of random emojis attached to it. Harry reluctantly hit _video call_ and watched as his face appeared on the screen. He quickly moved the Arbor Mist out of the camera’s view, not wanting to give Gemma more of a reason to berate him. 

After a few seconds, the deafening shrill tone of the phone ringing cut out and Harry was greeted by the bright and chubby face of his three year old nephew, Benjamin. 

“Uncie Hazzy!” Benjamin shouted (—far too loudly, in Harry’s hungover opinion) with unrestrained glee as he gave a giant grin that showed off a number of missing baby teeth. “Hi, Uncie Hazzy!”

Harry pushed away the grumpiness that came with his tiny hangover in favor of greeting his nephew with excitement and a smile. “Hello, Benji! And how have you been, little guy? You’ve been good for your mommy and daddy, right?”

Benjamin nodded with fervor, his sandy brown ringlets bouncing with every movement of his head. He had something blue staining his lips, and Harry assumed it was from a popsicle (— one of his new obsessions). “I has been very, _very_ good. Daddy gives me thwee pops when Mommy says I only has _one_.”

“That’s because your Daddy is very naughy.” Harry heard his sister’s raspy voice before seeing her body slide into the view of the camera, arms reaching out and pulling Benjamin into her lap. “And he’s gonna learn not to be naughty while he sleeps on the couch tonight, _isn’t_ he?”

“That’s unfair,” Harry heard Michal speak as he popped his head into the screen, kissing Gemma’s cheek and ruffling Benjamin’s hair, “you know those puppy dog eyes are just too cute to say no to.”

Gemma quirked an eyebrow at her husband. “Really? Because _I_ say no to them all the time.”

“That’s because you’re the stern parent,” Harry spoke up, grabbing both Gemma and Michal’s attention. “The bad cop, I guess you could say. Michal, on the other hand, is a softie. Can’t really blame him for giving into Benji’s requests, now can you?”

“Thank you, Harry!” Michal exclaimed with bright eyes as he leaned closer to the screen. He turned his head to look at Gemma. “See, Harry sees it from my point of view.”

Gemma rolled her eyes, a small smile traitorously tugging at the corners of her rose painted lips. “Your only point of view tonight will be the living room wall as you sleep on the couch.”

Harry let out a huff, barely concealing his laughter as Michal spoke. “ _Ouch_. That one stung, darling.”

The man reached out, plucking his son out of Gemma’s arms and looking into the camera. “Well, that’s our que to go watch some cartoons. It was nice seeing you, Harry.”

“You too, Michal,” Harry smiled as Michal leaned down, letting Benjamin get his face so close to the camera that all Harry could see was one blue eye flecked with brown and a portion of his button nose.

“Say goodbye to Uncle Harry, Benji-boy,” Michal said off camera as Benjamin got impossibly closer to the screen, giving it a loud kiss.

“Bye bye, Uncie Hazzy, I miss _youuu_ ,” Benjamin sang loudly before waving as Michal pulled him out of view of the video call. Harry could hear him babbling away to his father as they got further and further away.

“So,” Gemma began, pulling Harry’s attention back to her somber, freckled face. “How have you been since you got down there?”

Harry sighed as he ran a hand over his face in exasperation. “It’s been less than three days since I got here, Gem.”

“So? You can still tell me how your _less than three days_ has gone. Even if it’s just a detailed recount of you sleeping all day.”

Harry let out a resigned breath. “Okay, okay. It’s been pretty eventful actually. I’ve already met some people and they’ve invited me out to their bar night tonight..”

“A bar night invitation in the span of less than three days? Wow, you’re just a social butterfly, aren’t you, Harry?” Gemma teased her brother with a small smile before her face turned serious again. “But, in all seriousness, good for you, Haz. We were all really worried about you for a while. This is the biggest funk that I think I’ve ever seen you in. And that’s counting in high school when you sucked Tommy Wells’s dick and then you saw him making out with Leona Goldberg in the corridor the next day.”

Harry cringed. “I don’t see what the point in bring up that _lovely_ moment in my life was, but fuck you for it. And I’m doing fine. Robin’s cabin is a bit of a wreck, but I’ve dipped into my savings to put a bit of work into it.”

“Glad to know that you’re putting a little TLC into the place,” Gemma began wearily, “but, that wasn’t quite what I meant, Harry.”

“I realize that, _Gemma_ ,” Harry replied with an irritated roll of his eyes. Gemma’s persistence when he was so obviously trying to change the subject irked him. “Maybe try taking a hint, huh?”

Gemma sighed deeply, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and speaking slowly, “listen, Haz, Mom and I are just really worried about you. You’ve been so withdrawn and distant and unlike yourself latel—”

“Yeah, well wouldn’t you be too if _your_ fiancée was getting head from their trainer on your kitchen counter?” Harry snapped angrily, cutting Gemma off and leaving her wide-eyed with a slackened jaw. “How would you feel if you came home to see, oh I don’t know, Michal getting a blowjob from the nanny?”

Gemma’s shocked expression melted into one of anger of and frustration. If looks could kill, Harry thought, he’d be six feet under. “Now that was severely uncalled for. Here I am trying to make sure you’re okay and you just decide to blow up on me and be a major dickhead.”

Harry took a calming breath in and out before replying. He moved his sunglasses up to the top of his head and forced himself to look Gemma in the eyes with no obstructions. “I get that you and Mom are just trying to look out for me, but you two are _suffocating_ me here, Gems. It’s why I had to fly cross-country in the first place.”

Gemma’s expression changed once more, this time into what Harry could only describe as pure sadness. Her pinched eyebrows relaxed and her eyes softened greatly as she spoke. “Oh, Haz, you didn’t tell us we were being that overbearing. We just wanted to try and help you out. You were so sad after Marisa cheated on you.”

“Well, yeah,” Harry replied, no bite left in his words, “people whose partners cheat on them after four years of a monogamous relationship typically do get sad.”

“I get that, Harry,” Gemma sighed, “I really do, but it wasn’t just a _sadness_. Mom and I were scared that you had fallen into a depression, and then all of a sudden you were taking three months leave from work and hopping on a flight to Maine. We didn’t mean to drive you away. All you had to do was tell us that we were being too much for you.”

Harry shook his head rapidly. “Gems, no, you and Mom were _not_ what made me decide to come to Maine.

“Then what did?”

“The constant reminders,” Harry replied, looking off to the side of the screen where he could see family photos hung up on Gemma’s walls in order to avoid eye contact. “Having to wake up in alone mine and Marisa’s bed— one that she probably cheated on me in. Having to walk past the gym where her new boyfriend works, having to go to work at a job full of people who knew what happened and were constantly shooting me looks of pity. It all got to be too much and you two treating me like a toddler who scraped his knee just added onto it. So I took three months off and just left for a place where no one knew me or what happened.”

“And you’re doing better? Now that you’re away from home, I mean?”

Harry nodded truthfully. “I am. In fact, nearly all day yesterday I hadn’t even thought about Marisa.”

“That’s good,” Gemma smiled, dimples just starting to peek out, “that’s really, really good.”

Harry smiled back before catching sight of the time at the top of his phone screen. “Oh shit, Gem, I didn’t realize it was nearly one already over here. I’ve got to go so I can get some cleaning done and stock up on groceries before hitting the bar later tonight.”

“Alright, I guess I’ll let you go then,” Gemma said reluctantly, obviously not ready to hang up after such an emotionally stressful conversation. 

“Great,” Harry said, relieved that she wasn’t pushing him to talk for longer. “Tell Michal and Benji that I said goodbye and I’ll call again soon.”

“Okay, I’ll send the message along. Bye, Harry.”

“See ya, Gems.”

And with a sigh of relief, Harry hung up the call, letting his phone flop into his boxer-clad lap. He leaned down, picking up the Arbor Mist, taking a long gulp of it and simultaneously pulling his pink shades back over his face, drowning out the sun. He placed the rim of the bottle back to his heat-chapped lips, knowing that he shouldn’t continue his day-drinking, but not quite finding the point in stopping himself after the call he had just made. 

So, about twenty minutes and a bottle of Arbor Mist later, Harry found himself with a pounding headache and a rumbling stomach, wondering why the fuck he had thought chugging the rest of the wine that quickly was a good idea. 

He decided that instead of cleaning, he would take a quick power nap and try to sleep off his ailments. Collapsing onto the still-plastic-covered couch, Harry let the empty wine bottle fall to the ground next to the couch and closed his eyes, drifting off into a deep slumber. 

A couple of hours later Harry was pushing a grocery cart that was practically overflowing through an air-conditioned grocery store. He was buying as many groceries as he could afford in order to stock up the cabinets and the fridge at the cabin so he wouldn’t have to go shopping for a while again. The fluorescent lights of the store were far too harsh on Harry’s still sensitive eyes, so he had been forced to pull his pink sunglasses down over his eyes, probably making himself look like a dweeb, but at least he wasn’t getting any more of a raging headache than he already had. 

He was too preoccupied with looking down at his shopping list as he pushed the cart, that he didn’t know he was about to ram into someone else until he had already collided with them. 

He looked up quickly, apology on his lips and ready to fall out, before he saw just who he had plowed into like a dumbass.

“Louis, hey,” He said in a daze as he studied Louis who was wearing jean shorts cut off at his knees, and a white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled a bit. He also had a ball cap fastened snugly over the soft fringe that fell over his forehead. Harry wasn’t drooling; he just _wasn’t_. 

“Hey there, Ranger,” Louis laughed as he backed up a bit, disentangling his cart from Harry’s. “Guess trucks aren’t the only thing that you can’t navigate, then?”

It was then that Harry remembered he had just rammed straight into Louis with a heavy cart. “Oh my God, I wasn’t paying attention, I am so fucking sorry, Lou.”

Louis shook his head with a hearty laugh. “Don’t worry about it, Haz, I wasn’t really looking where I was going either. Both of our faults, really.”

Harry just laughed a bit nervously, still berating himself in his mind for being such a klutz. He reached up and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, drawing Louis’s attention to them. 

“Sunnies indoors, huh, Ranger?” Louis teased him with a raised eyebrow. “Didn’t peg you as the type.”

Harry forced himself to lift the shades up over his eyes, perching them on the top of his head. He squinted at the bright overhead lights as he responded. “Don’t make fun of me, but I’ve actually got a bit of a hangover from all that Arbor Mist I drank yesterday.”

He neglected to mention the fact that he had downed the rest of the bottle only hours earlier after his emotion-scrambling conversation with Gemma. Louis _definitely_ didn’t need to know that he tried drowning his sorrows in wine at twelve in the afternoon.

Louis laughed heartily, the pretty sound making Harry grip tighter onto the handle of the shopping cart. “What an absolute _lightweight_ you are, Harold!”

Harry grinned despite himself. “ _Louis_ , stop making fun of me. I’m delicate!”

That only made the blue eyed man laugh even harder. “Along with being a lightweight, you’re a whiner too, huh?”

Harry rolled his eyes fondly before eyeing Louis’s cart, which was filled with multiple tubs of ice cream and a couple packages of frozen juice canisters. “Planning on an ice cream and juice fest?”

Louis glanced down at his cart’s contents before looking back up at Harry. “The juice is for some mixed drinks that I like to make. And the ice cream is because I like a bit of a sweet treat while I watch Drag Race reruns.”

“You watch Drag Race? Are you all caught up on season twelve?” Harry asked excitedly. When Louis nodded he continued speaking. “Not gonna lie, I was a bit bummed that Crystal lost.”

Louis scrunched his nose and shook his head in disagreement. “Nah, Jaida deserved every bit of that win. She was fantastic.”

“I think you mean _jantastic_ ,” Harry said with a small wink, causing Louis to start up his fit of laughter again.

“You're right, _jantastic_ ,” Louis said, still chuckling, with a slight nod. “I think we can both agree that Jan was robbed in the Madonna challenge though.”

“Hmm,” Harry said in mock-thought, “I think that maybe Gigi’s performance was a _bit_ better.”

Louis groaned. “Ugh, I love Gigi as much as the next guy, but you just _know_ Jan should’ve won that challenge.”

“Okay, okay,” Harry chuckled. “I won’t argue with you there.”

“Good, because there’s no argument,” Louis smirked teasingly. “Now, I don’t want to cut this lovely conversation short, but my ice cream is gonna melt if I don’t hurry up and get it home and in the freezer.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “Of course, I’ll let you get going. I’ll see you at the bar later tonight, though?”

“Definitely,” Louis smiled. “See you, later, Haz.”

Harry's stomach fluttered at the nickname. “See you, Lou.”

And with that, Louis was shooting him one last smile before he maneuvered his cart around Harry’s and headed towards the check out. Harry sighed and looked to his left. 

Spotting a stack of heads of lettuce, he didn’t think before saying, “you’re lucky that you’re a vegetable and don’t have to deal with weird feelings that you shouldn’t be having.”

With one last tiny sigh, he looked back up only to see an older woman with a grey updo looking at him like he was a psycho; which maybe he was since he head resorted to talking to the produce items. 

Harry gave the woman an awkward look that consisted of a tight, closed mouth grin, with his lips barely quirking up at the corners, and apologetic eyes. 

He then quickly pushed his cart away from the produce aisle, continuing to shop for his groceries and loathe his absolute existence. Why did his mother have to give birth to such an idiotic and awkward son while Gemma got to be all poised and put together. 

He shook off the thoughts with a heavy sigh as he steered the cart down the cereal aisle, deciding that he instead needed to focus his energy on choosing the right sugary breakfast, because he definitely couldn’t see himself mustering up the will to cook a regular meal anytime soon.

Later that evening, Harry found himself strewing his luggage’s content all about once again, looking for the perfect outfit to attend bar night in. 

He didn’t want to dress up _too_ much and look like a posh idiot, but he also didn’t want to just throw on a tee and ripped skinnies and end up looking like a slob.

Luck was seemingly on his side in that moment, because just as he was about to give up and wear his wine-stained white tee, his fingers brushed along silky material and he had immediately known that he hit the jackpot. 

Harry pulled the material free from where it was trapped beneath hair-care products and loads of underwear and socks, giving out a victorious _whoop_ when the black, semi-transparent material was revealed. 

He held it out in front of him for a few moments, eyes scanning the fabric for any stray stains or imperfections. When none were found, he quickly stripped himself of his t-shirt before pulling the silky material over his shoulders and beginning to button it up, relishing in the cool feeling of the fabric against his warm skin. 

He glanced at the time on the wall clock, noting with a bit of panic that it was quickly approaching the time that Niall had told him to be at the bar at. In a flustered panic, Harry grabbed a pair of his black skinnies, and quickly shoved his basketball shorts down his legs before tugging the jeans up with minimal struggle. 

Soon enough, Harry found himself pulling into a crowded dirt parking lot next to a moderate-sized brick building with a huge wooden sign declaring it as _Horan’s Bar and Grille_. When he cut the engine of his truck, he could hear loud music pouring out of the propped open door of the building. 

He hopped out of his vehicle and cringed as he heard rocks crunch underneath his boots. He knew that he’d be spending some time the next day trying to pry small pieces of concrete and gravel out of the grooves in the bottom of them. 

Forgetting about his boot dilemma for the time being, Harry began to make his way to the bar’s entrance, immediately being hit by the smell of grease and booze when he reached the door. 

Walking in, he looked around to see if he could spot his friends, but in the end, it was his ears and _not_ his eyes that found them. 

He could hear Niall’s very distinct and very _loud_ voice carrying across the room from where he was sitting with a group of women back towards a small stage set up against the back wall of the establishment. 

Harry walked leisurely over to the group and noted that three smaller tables had been pushed together to make one big one. He surveyed the four women and immediately recognized the brunette with blonde highlights in the front of her hair as Niall’s wife, Jade. Harry noted that she didn’t look much older than in the picture he had seen, but she definitely looked more refined and stylish. 

“Harry!” Niall exclaimed with a bright grin as he jumped up from his seat and pulled Harry into a crushing hug. When he pulled away, he motioned to the woman next to him and said, “Harry, this is my gorgeous wife, Jade.”

As Harry and Niall both sat down, Jade reached across her husband with a dainty hand held out. Harry grasped it and as they shook, Jade spoke. “Great to meet you, Harry. Ni’s told me all about you.”

The man was a bit taken aback by Jade’s heavy southern twang, but bit back his surprise and responded with a smile. “It’s good to meet you, too. And Niall’s definitely gushed about you every time I’ve seen him. Your name was probably one of the first things out of his mouth when we first met.”

Everyone at the table laughed upon hearing that and the pretty blonde woman at the table quipped, “Niall is _definitely_ whipped for our Jadey-kins. I’m Perrie, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” Harry said with a smile as Perrie turned to the woman next to her.

“This is my girlfriend, Jesy.”

Harry exchanged a warm smile with Jesy, admiring the smoky eye that it seemed like she had meticulously applied and the dark crimson gloss that was slicked over her full lips. “I love your makeup. It looks sick.”

With that, Jesy broke out into a wide grin, far more genuine than that of her previous smile. “Thank you! Perrie, here, always makes fun of me for how long I spend putting on my face.”

A chuckle rippled throughout the group as Perrie shot a mock glare and eye roll at Jesy before pulling her in and giving her a quick kiss. When she pulled back, Harry noted with a quiet laugh that Jesy’s lipgloss had rubbed off onto Perrie’s mouth, staining her pink lips a muted shade of red. 

“And I’m Leigh-Anne,” a woman with long, curly hair (— which Harry was extremely jealous of) said with a small grin curled upon her lips. “The only lonely one at the table. Well, I’m actually engaged, but my fiancé couldn’t make it tonight, so I’m alone.”

Harry laughed in response. “Nice to meet you. Your hair is lovely. Mine used to be nearly as long, but I cut it off a few years back.”

Niall guffawed and Harry could already tell that he was halfway drunk. “You with long hair? I’d love to see that!”

“I’ve probably got some photos somewhere,” Harry responded with an amused grin. 

Niall was gearing up to reply, but cut himself off with an excited shout as he threw his hands up in the air. “Mr. and Mr. Payno in the House! And Tommo the Tease!”

Harry looked up to see Louis, Liam, and Zayn all walking towards their table. 

He raised his eyebrows at Niall’s nickname for Louis and gave the man who was walking his way a questioning look. Louis’s only response was to comically scrunch his eyebrows, cross his eyes and stick his tongue out of his mouth as far as he possibly could. 

Upon seeing that, Harry couldn’t help but break out into an uproarious bout of laughter, causing everyone at the table to look at him oddly. 

He felt a strawberry blush color his cheeks as he grinned at Niall and the girls sheepishly. “Sorry, Lou pulled a funny face.”  
“ _Lou pulled a funny face_ ,” Niall drunkenly mocked Harry with a cackling laugh. “You’re such a weirdo!”

Harry felt his blush deepen as Louis, Zayn and Liam approached the group where they sat. 

When they reached the table, Louis settled a warm hand on Harry’s shoulder before giving it a tight squeeze and settling down in the chair next to his. 

“Hello there, Ranger,” Louis smiled brightly in the dimly lit bar. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Hey, Lou,” Harry spoke as he smiled softly at the blue-eyed man. 

Louis did a quick glance over of the table and its occupants before returning his gaze to Harry. “No drink tonight, boozy?”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the nickname and the teasing quirk of Louis’s eyebrow. “I just got here a few minutes ago. I haven’t had a chance to get a drink yet.”

“Are you sure it’s not because you downed too much Arbor Mist and gave yourself a hangover?” 

Harry felt his blush return in full force. “No. I promise I’m not that much of a lightweight. I hold my alcohol very well.”

_Lies, lies, lies._

“As long as you’re sure,” Louis laughed wholeheartedly. Then, without another word, he stood from his chair. “What’re you drinking? I’ll get the first round.”

“Oh no, you _really_ don’t have to do that, Louis—”

“I scarfed down your entire fruit platter yesterday,” Louis said in response with a tone in his voice that Harry assumed meant he wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I’m buying you a drink and that’s final.”

And with that, Harry relented and watched as Louis joined Zayn and Liam in approaching the bar to order their drinks, and the man realized too late that he hadn’t told Louis what he wanted. He shrugged internally and turned to face Niall and the girls, only to see Jesy shooting daggers at Zayn, Louis and Liam’s backs as they walked away.

He leaned in close to whisper to Niall. “Does Jesy not like Lou, Zayn and Liam?”

Niall turned to Jesy to see what Harry was talking about and when he saw her sour expression he laughed. “Zayn and Perrie had a bit of a thing a few years ago, back when Zayn and Liam were broken up for a while. Long story short, Zayn realized he was still in love with Liam, broke up with Perrie, and Jesy still holds a bit of a grudge with Z for hurting Pezza.”

Harry nodded in understanding before glancing up at the bar to see Louis leaning over the top of it, ruffling the hair of the blonde bartender who looked as if she wanted to knock his lights out for messing with her meticulously crafted ponytail. 

Soon enough, Louis and the other two men were on their way back to the rest of the group, drinks balanced carefully in their hands. As they reached the table, Harry gave a quick smile to Zayn and Liam before turning to face Louis, who handed him a bright red drink in a martini glass, complete with a sugar rim and a strawberry to garnish it.

“What the hell is this?” Harry laughed as he took the glass out of Louis’s hand and watched the man sit down.

“A strawberry lemon-drop martini,” Louis replied before taking a swig from his bottle of Sam Adams. A mischievous smile curled onto his thin lips, showing off his teeth and a hint of his smiley piercing. “I figured that Mr. Hangover would want to go for something a bit lighter tonight and Crystal makes _killer_ martinis.”

Harry gave the man a wry smile. “Ha ha, _hilarious_ , Lou. Lucky for you, I actually _prefer_ my drinks to be fruity and colorful. The only thing that's missing is the little pink umbrella.”

“I asked for one,” Louis replied, a smile still in place (—and it was _not_ completely warming Harry’s heart, it just _wasn’t_ ), “Crystal said we were fresh out. Apparently a bachelorette party came through yesterday and they were ordering sex on the beaches all night.”

“Mmm,” Harry groaned, throwing his head back slightly. “I fucking _love_ sex on the beach.”

“Harold,” Louis exclaimed with wide eyes and an amused laugh. “What an absolutely scandalous thing for you to say.”

Harry rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his martini, relishing in the fruity taste as it slid down his parched throat. “You know what I meant, asshole.”

“I know, I know,” Louis chuckled, swiping a bit of runaway fringe out from in front of his eyes. “I just like teasing you. You’re cute when you get flustered.”

Harry’s train of thought halted. How was one supposed to respond when a beautiful man called them _cute when flustered_? Harry knew what he would’ve said if he wasn’t fresh out of a long term relationship, and it was something along the lines of _I’m cuter when I get a different kind of flustered, if you know what I mean_ , but there was absolutely no way he’d be saying that to Louis. 

Harry’s lack of response other than a deer-in-headlights expression must’ve made Louis think he took the comment the wrong way, because suddenly he was cringing apologetically and saying, “sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Oh, no, you didn’t—”

Harry was cut off by the static-y tapping of a microphone blaring over the bar’s speakers. He, along with the rest of the patrons, looked up towards the stage where a tan-skinned man with bleached blonde hair was standing, a wide and friendly grin painted on his face. 

“Hi, everyone!” The man exclaimed, his hickory-brown eyes surveying the crowd with an amicable glint to them. “I’m Calum, I’m one of the bartenders here at _Horan’s_ , but tonight I’m gonna be your open mic host. Anyone who wants to participate, c’mon up and jot your name down on the sign up sheet. First act will go on in about ten minutes!”

Almost as immediately as Calum had started talking, the four girls at the table started squealing excitedly, pulling at each other’s shirts and sporting huge grins. 

Almost immediately, Jade and Leigh-Anne jumped up, making their way to the stage where Calum had said the sign up sheet was. 

“Us girls are in a bit of a group,” Perrie said, pulling Harry’s gaze away from where Leigh-Anne and Jade were huddled around the stage with a few others. She must’ve seen Harry looking a little lost at their unbridled excitement. “We call ourselves _Little Mix_. Whenever we’re all free on an open mic night, we try to get together to sing a song.”

“So you guys are singers?”

Jesy barked out a sharp bout of laughter. “Hardly. I’m a teacher at the local high school, Pezza’s a nurse practitioner, Leigh works at PG and does photography on the side—“

“And my Jadey is a yoga instructor!” Niall butted in excitedly, his words slurring together the tiniest bit. 

Jesy rolled her eyes in amusement at the man, as the rest of the table chuckled at him. “Yes, Niall, you’re completely and utterly in love with your wife, we get it.”

Before the conversation on occupations could continue, Jade and Leigh-Anne returned to the table, buzzing and cheery-faced as they sat down. 

Jade cuddled up to Niall’s side, laying her head down on his shoulder. Harry chuckled as the woman looked up at her husband, batting her long eyelashes. 

“Guess what, baby,” she said to Niall overly sweetly as she reached a hand up, raking her blue painted nails through his already messy hair. “Go on, guess.”

Niall eyed her warily and Harry noticed that it looked like he had impossibly sobered up in the short amount of time between Jade sitting down and speaking to him. “Do I want to guess?”

“Probably not,” Jade giggled cutely, lifting her hand from Niall’s hair to boop him on the nose with her index finger. “But, I’m gonna tell you anyway. I signed you up to sing!”

“Aw, Jade,” Niall groaned, his eyes clenching shut and his voice sobering up. “Why would you go and do that?”

Jade pouted slightly and furrowed her manicured brows. “But, Ni, you said you’d sing that new song you wrote for me. I _really_ want to hear it. _Pleaaase_?”

Niall sighed in resignation, turning to give Jade a kiss on her pouting lips, immediately making the woman smile softly. “The things I do to please you, wifey.”

“I didn’t know you wrote songs, Niall,” Harry said as he swirled the small black straw around in his martini. “That’s pretty cool.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Niall replied dismissively with a wave of his hand. “It’s only a bit of a hobby.”

“Psh. _A bit of a hobby_ ,” Jade scoffed as she swatted Niall on the shoulder. “Stop acting as if you’re not an _amazing_ writer.”

“It’s nothing special,” Niall said back as his cheeks grew a deep shade of beet red. “Really, _anyone_ could write a song.”

“Actually— little known fact— Lou writes for a living,” Zayn added to the conversation from where he was tucked into Liam’s side, sipping periodically on a rum and coke, while his husband drank a ginger ale. 

Louis huffed annoyedly. “Thanks for bringing _that_ up Zayner. It wasn’t a completely awful time or anything.”

Harry turned to Louis, intrigument evident on his face. The man in question was avoiding his gaze as much as he could. 

“That’s really cool Louis,” Harry said, his tone laced with interest. The statement caused Louis to look up at him. 

“You think so?”

Harry nodded vehemently. “Of course. I think it’s _wicked_ cool.”

The compliment had pleased Louis greatly, if the light blush on his cheeks and the pull at the corner of his lips were any indication. 

“Have you written anything we may have heard?” Perrie spoke as she leaned her chin in her palm. 

“Uhh, I’ve done a bit of writing on one of Ed Sheeran’s albums,” Louis answered awkwardly as he swirled his drink around in its bottle. Harry could tell that he was feeling a bit out of place, so he gave the man an encouraging squeeze of the shoulder, which led to Louis rewarding him with a soft smile. 

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Stop trying to downplay your success, Tommo. You guys know that Bebe Rexha song with Digital Farm Animals?”

“ _Back to You_?” Leigh-Anne gasped with wide, brown eyes. “The one that’s _constantly_ on the radio?”

“Yeah, I guess maybe I had a hand in writing it,” Louis replies bashfully as he swiped his fringe out from in front of his eyes, attempting tucking it behind his hair and failing as it sprung right back to his forehead. 

“A bit of a hand?” Zayn scoffed as he rolled his eyes at Louis. “Lou, you wrote the whole song.”

As the rest of the table broke out in an excited chatter, Harry stayed silent and took a second to look at Louis. He was still blushing something fierce, and his eyes were fluttering nervously over the group at their table. 

Seeing just how anxious the man was, Harry leaned in close to his ear so that Louis would be the only one to hear and said, “it’s such a lovely song, Lou. It’s a complete smash. I’d love to hear some of your other stuff some time soon.”

Louis turned to face Harry with a slackened jaw and an indescribable look in his eyes. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Calum once again tapping the microphone on stage. 

“Alrighty guys, gals, and non-binary pals, it’s time to introduce your first act of the night.” He took a second to scan the sign-up sheet that was clenched tightly in his tanned fist. “Please give a warm welcome to one of your favorites, _Little Mix!_ ”

Upon hearing that, the four girls at the table shot up with harmonizing squeals of excitement and rushed to the stage. Harry watched as Jesy picked up a worn out acoustic guitar and the four girls sat down onto wooden stools that had been set up behind microphones for them. 

“Hi, everyone!” Jade smiled prettily at the moderately-sized crowd, her pink-painted lips parting and revealing a pearly white smile. “We’re gonna be singing a rendition of _We Are Young_ by Fun.”

As Jesy started strumming the guitar, Niall slammed his head down onto the hard surface of the table with a groan. 

“Everything alright, Nialler?” Louis asked in confusion before he took one last sip of his Sam Adams and set the empty bottle down in front of him. 

“Not really,” Niall replied, the table muffling his voice. “If Jadey and the girls are up first, that probably means that I’m next.”

“Do you not like performing?” Harry replied as he split his attention between Niall and the girls on stage (—who actually turned out to be fairly good singers and their harmonies were absolute _heaven_ ). 

“No, no, that’s not it,” Niall said as he lifted his head in order to shake it at Harry. “I love performing, it’s amazing, but I’ve drank so much tonight that I’m probably gonna stumble off stage.”

Liam laughed in response. “What happened to ‘ _I’m of Irish descent, fellas, a few beers can’t bring me down_ ’?”

“That’s when I _haven’t_ been pregaming all day before hitting the bar,” Niall said as he glanced up at the girls, who were nearing the end of the song. “And the seven shots of blue razz Svedka that I had before coming out are really startin’ to hit me.”

“Yikes,” Louis cringed in sympathy before shooting a look back at the bar where a blonde woman (—Crystal, Harry thought Louis said her name was) and a brunette woman stood serving drinks. “Crystal and KayKay are on shift tonight, so you know if you trip up they’ll tell Ash and Mikey _all_ about it.”

Niall nodded as he threw back a bit more of his Guinness. “And those little fuckers will never let me hear the end of it.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the girls’ song was coming to an end and Perrie was thanking the crowd before they scrambled off stage, allowing Calum to take their place. 

Niall groaned once more, but this time decided to chug the rest of his beer instead of banging his head down on the table. 

“Thank you, ladies!” Calum exclaimed as he glanced over the sign-up sheet, an evil smile taking over his face when he saw who was up next. “Now, let's give a _huge_ welcome to _Horan’s_ own, Niall Horan!”

The eruption of applause in the crowd did well in covering up Niall’s loud _ughhh_ as he pushed himself from his seat, glaring playfully at his wife as he passed her on his way to the stage. 

“Poor Niall better hope that he doesn’t fall or else he’ll never hear the end of it,” Liam chuckled as he cuddled up to Zayn’s side, smiling softly as the man pressed a short kiss to his stubbled cheek. 

“He’ll be okay,” Jade said with a fond smile painted on her lips as she watched Niall clamber onto the stage, picking up the guitar that Jesy had discarded. “He always sobers up once he gets the guitar in his hands and takes a look at the crowd.”

“Hullo, everyone,” Niall said as he looked out upon the crowd with a charming smile. Jade was right, Harry surmised, as Niall didn’t look like he had touched a drop of alcohol as he plucked absentmindedly at the guitar’s strings. “Lovely to see all of those familiar faces out there. Now, my lovely wife signed me up for this without consulting me first, so I think it’s only fair if I sing a song that I wrote about her and our beautiful relationship. This one’s called _Black and White_ , I hope you like it, Jadey.”

_That first night we were standing at your door  
Fumbling for your keys, then I kissed you_

As Jade watched Niall with an awestruck grin and tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, Harry listened to the man’s beautiful lyrics and felt a prick of jealousy and sadness stab at his heart. He couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d thought he had that with Marisa, only for the rug to be pulled straight out from under him. 

_There'll never be another  
I promise that I'll love you for the rest of my life_

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Harry was pulled out of his depressing thoughts by Louis’s airy voice as the man leaned in close and whispered to him as not to disrupt the atmosphere that Niall’s soft voice had created. 

“Yeah,” Harry nodded in agreement. “Niall’s a great singer.”

_We're 65 and you ask  
When did I first know, I always knew_

Louis shook his head slightly. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, he _is_ brilliant, but what I meant is, isn’t it amazing how someone can just take such _raw_ feelings and emotions and put them into lyrics. And _then_ turn it into a song that so many people can relate to even though it just began as one person’s feelings.”

Harry nodded absentmindedly as he looked at Louis’s eyes and the way they caught the stage’s lights swirling around it their irises. “That _is_ amazing. I could never even attempt to sit down and write something so heartfelt.”

_It’s the way you love,  
I gotta give it back to you_

“What _do_ you do when you’re not getting smashed off of Arbor Mist on my back porch, Harold?” Louis curiously asked, his eyes sparkling in a way that showed Harry he was teasing him. 

Harry rolled his eyes lightly as he felt an involuntary smile tug at the corner of his lips. “I’m a Sous Chef at a restaurant out in LA.”

“ _Sous Chef_ , huh? Sounds pretty important. How’d you manage to get the summer off to stay in lil’ old Canyon?” When Louis saw the uncomfortable expression that had undoubtedly taken over Harry’s face, he backtracked. “It’s okay if it’s too personal, I understand. I just don’t really know boundaries when it comes to what I should and shouldn’t ask.”

Harry shook his head slightly, forcing all unwanted thoughts of Marisa and home from his mind. “The owner of the restaurant is an old family friend. Something happened that had me a bit of a wreck, and he told me to take leave and not come back until I was okay again.”

“Sounds like a good boss.”

“He’s great,” Harry nodded in confirmation as he glanced away from Louis and up to Niall on the stage. The man’s piercing gaze had felt like it was tearing into Harry’s very soul and unwinding each and every piece of him. 

_There'll never be another  
I promise that I'll love you for the rest of my life_

A couple of hours and about eight acts later, the group was standing from their tables, preparing to head to the bar to pay their tabs and call it a night. Harry had limited himself to two martinis and then had stuck to water for the rest of the excursion, so he was only feeling the slightest bit of a buzz (— something that his remnant of a hangover was thanking him immensely for). 

“Have any plans for tomorrow?” Louis asked as he and Harry stood side by side at the bar, waiting for either Crystal or KayKay to tell them what their tab amounted to. 

Harry turned to face Louis who was already looking at him. “Nope. None that I can think of.”

“Did you want to come to mine?” The other man asked, almost shyly. “It’s supposed to be another hot one and Cliff gets lonely swimming in the lake with only me as company.”

Harry damned the butterflies that erupted in his stomach at the prospect of being at Louis’s cabin once again. 

“Sounds good,” Harry nodded in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. “What time?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Louis drawled as KayKay approached the pair and Louis handed her his credit card with a quick wink. “How about noon? That gives me enough time to force myself out of bed and look presentable.”

Harry nodded in agreement as he watched KayKay hand Louis a receipt and a pen. After Louis finished signing the slip of paper, he handed it back to KayKay, and with a quick smile she left to tend to the bar’s other patrons. 

Harry’s brows furrowed in confusion. He turned to Louis. “She didn’t tell me what my tab was.”

“That’s ‘cause you don’t have a tab, dear Harold,” Louis smirked, his blue eyes dancing under the fluorescent lighting of the building. “I had your drinks put on mine.”

“Why the hell would you go and do that?” Harry asked in exasperation, a deep red flush filling his cheeks. 

“Because I wanted to,” Louis smiled as he put an arm around Harry’s shoulders and guided him towards the exit. “Besides, you only got two drinks _and_ I get an employee discount. Your measly lemon drops are hardly going to drain my bank account, Haz.”

Harry sighed in resignation. “You didn’t have to.”

“Like I said, I _wanted_ to,” Louis chuckled lightly as they walked out of the bar and into the humid night. The sky was void of any clouds, so Harry had a perfect view of the crescent moon and billions of stars. “Now, let me walk you to your truck.”

Louis then guided him over to his rickety rental truck, not once letting his thin arm slip off of Harry’s shoulders. 

As Harry unlocked the truck and opened the driver’s side door, he turned back to Louis. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Louis nodded, his eyes looking nearly as soft as his hair. “You will. Have a good night, Ranger.”

Harry smiled and Louis returned it. “You too, Lou.”

The next day, Harry found himself lying on a bunch of towels that they’d spread out on the small pier at Louis’s lake. 

Harry’s eyes had fallen shut due to his drowsiness that had accumulated after hours of splashing in the lake with Louis and his dog. 

Speaking of the man and his companion, Harry surmised that they weren’t as tired as him because he could still hear them splashing around in the shallow edge of the lake, Louis occasionally throwing a toy further out into the lake for Clifford to fetch. 

Harry relished in the sun beating down onto his body, knowing that his sun cream would ensure that he would only darken his tan rather than burning his skin. He soon found himself drifting off to the sound of Louis and Clifford swimming in the water. 

Not long later, Harry was awoken to a cold, wet hand shaking his bare shoulder gently. 

“Harold,” Louis said softly as he lifted his hand. 

Harry’s eyes blinked open to see Louis crouched over him, his head blocking the sun and leaving the light from it to spill around his head forming somewhat of a halo. 

“Whasit?” Harry slurred, still sleepy from his short nap on the pier. 

“Nialler sent me a text,” Louis replied as he watched Harry sit up. “Said that they’ve finally set up the farmer’s market on the edge of town for the summer and that Marge is selling her honey. We _have_ to go.”

Harry chuckled sleepily. “Oh we _have_ to, do we?”

Louis nodded vigorously. “If Marge is there, then definitely. Her honey is absolute _heaven_ over blueberry pancakes. I haven’t had it in ages.”

Harry rubbed the remnants of sleep out of his tired eyes before letting Louis take his hand and haul him upright. “Then I guess that I’d better go get dressed.”

Less than an hour later, Harry and Louis were walking through row upon row of different stalls that were stocked with all sorts of fresh fruits, veggies, and other homemade and homegrown things. 

The pair walked close enough that their shoulders were constantly brushing, and everytime it happened goosebumps raised themselves on his arms. Louis had a tight grip on Clifford’s leash, and chuckled everytime the dog would try to trot up to a stall and take a sniff at whatever was being sold. 

Slowly but surely, the cloth bags that Harry had brought along became filled with all sorts of things, ranging from peppers to a couple jars of Marge’s _famous_ honey. He had even bought a few carrot and zucchini dog cookies so that Cliff didn’t feel left out (— a thing that Louis has teased him relentlessly about). 

After a couple of hours of perusing the stalls, the pair decided to grab a large cup of freshly squeezed lemonade to share and headed back to Harry’s truck. After Harry started the engine and flicked on the radio, they situated themselves on the tailgate with Clifford between them, chowing down on his treats. 

It took Harry a few minutes to tune into what was playing from his truck, and when he realized that he’d left Lover in the CD player, he flushed a dark red. 

“I didn’t realize I’d left this CD in,” he muttered sheepishly, trying fruitlessly to get his blush to fade. “I can go switch it to something else if you want.”

Louis shook his head as he took a short sip from the straw of the lemonade. “No, don’t change it. I like Taylor.”

Harry smiled in surprise. He had always been teased for his affinity for Taylor; by Marisa, his coworkers, even his sister teased him relentlessly about it. It was nice to have someone just let him like what he wanted without feeling the need to make fun. 

As the first few notes of _The Man_ floated through the speakers, Harry took the lemonade from where Louis had it outstretched.

“It’s annoying how Taylor has to work twice as hard and fight off twice as much hate in the industry just because she’s a woman,” Harry said offhandedly before sipping the rapidly warming lemonade. “She deserves to be where she is and have what she has. 

“Quite the feminist aren’t you, Harold?” Louis teased Harry playfully before sobering his expression. “But, yeah, I’ve worked with Taylor in the past. She’s absolutely brilliant, but all people see is an independent woman and they get intimidated then show their intimidation through hate.”

Harry was pretty much blown away by Louis’s unexpected spout of feminist. Well, that and the fact that he knew _Taylor Swift_. 

“You know Taylor? Do you have her number?” He asked excitedly as Louis snatched the lemonade out of his hand. 

Louis laughed heartily, the somber mood from the previous topic having alleviated the slightest bit. “I have her manager’s number, but I guess I could pass it along if you really wanted me to.”

The next few hours were spent in a similar fashion; with teases jokes passed back and forth, much like the plastic cup filled with lemonade that was quickly dwindling. 

After what felt like no time at all, the pair saw cars beginning to leave the dirt parking lot, and soon enough they were the only vehicle left, clueing them into the fact that they should probably be going as well. 

So, they loaded Cliff back up into the truck, pulling away from the farmer’s market and driving down the nearby empty dirt road, the fading sunset spilling through the windshield. 

As Harry watched Louis guide Cliff back into his cabin less than twenty minutes later, he couldn’t help but think about how much fun he’d had. It was just super easy to be around Louis, and he didn’t feel like he was raising any protective walls around himself like he usually did. 

For a moment, he allowed himself to entertain the thought of what it’d be like to _be_ with Louis. He could imagine the long days spent in the lake, playing with Clifford and splashing each other before retiring to the pier and lounging in the sun with linked hands. He saw evenings of walking the farmer’s market, hand in hand, and cuddling in the tailgate of his truck (—one of which he would eventually buy instead of renting because _damn_ he actually really loved that piece of junk). But, as he pulled out of Louis’s driveway, he forced away those thoughts. 

He couldn’t be with Louis in that way for two reasons. One being the fact that he just got cheated on and dumped after being in a very _long_ (— and oftentimes, emotionally draining) four year relationship with Marisa. He wasn’t sure he was in the right headspace to be jumping headfirst into a new relationship that was likely doomed anyways. 

Second, he was leaving at the end of August. He just couldn’t see the point of beginning to date Louis and potentially _falling in love_ , only to have to break it off less than three months later. He couldn’t do that to himself. He _refused_ to do that to himself. 

He was doing it to himself. He was _really_ doing it to himself. 

Two weeks later and he was standing in his cabin, paintbrush in hand while watching as Louis swipes a second paintbrush back and forth against his kitchen wall. 

The plastic coverings that had been present when he first arrived at the cabin had been broken out and put over all of the kitchen’s furniture so as to not ruin any of it with paint. 

Harry couldn’t help but watch fondly as Louis dripped paint down his ratty band tee, his fringe pulled back with a black athletic headband that made him look absolutely _sinful_ (— he was doomed). 

“Are you gonna sit there and watch me or are you gonna help, Ranger?” Louis quipped as he flicked his paint covered brush towards Harry, splattering his face with the sunshine yellow liquid. 

“You little _gremlin_ ,” Harry growled playfully as he bent down to soak his brush in paint before swiping it through the air, sending the paint flying onto Louis’s face with an audible _splat_. 

“You’re gonna regret that, Harold,” Louis said as an evil glint lit up his eyes. He bent down quickly in order to layer his brush in paint before he leaped at Harry. 

Before he knew it, he had his arms full of Louis, and the sudden weight that was thrown at him forced him to fall backwards, hard onto the wooden floor. 

He did his best to wrestle the brush from Louis’s hand, but it was to no avail. He found himself with Louis in his lap, giggling maniacally as he swiped the brush up and down Harry’s face, painting him like he was _supposed_ to be painting the wall. 

After a minute of Louis’s evilness, his uproar of giggles faded into a soft chuckle as he straddled Harry’s waist, one hand pinning down the man’s wrist and the other holding the brush limply. 

Soon enough, the room was silent save for the men’s heavy breathing and Louis’s occasional short spurt of leftover laughter. Harry found himself staring at the other man’s face, studying the freckles on his cheeks (—now marred with splotches of drying yellow paint) and the flecks of amber and emerald that were scattered throughout his sea-blue irises. 

It was almost as if the earth had stopped spinning on its axis and the rest of the world had faded away until it was only the two of them left, panting on the floor of Harry’s kitchen. 

Before Harry could move (— or even _think_ ), he found his lips pinned beneath Louis’s own. 

It was like his brain had malfunctioned and he could do nothing but lay there, frozen, as Louis presses his chapped lips against Harry’s. He should’ve done something. Pulled away or (— _for God’s sake_ maybe kiss him back) but all he could do was stare at the closeup of Louis’s scrunched eyelids that he was provided with. 

After a few seconds of his unresponsiveness, Louis must’ve realized that Harry wasn’t going to do anything, so he pulled away with wide, apologetic eyes before scrambling off of Harry and standing. 

He cleared his throat awkwardly before he grunted out a quick _sorry_ and offered out a hand to help Harry up with. 

“It’s okay,” Harry responded as he avoided looking into Louis’s eyes. 

After a few more moments of silence, Louis spoke with a nonchalant tone forced into his voice. “Good thing we put those tarps down, hey? We made a fuckin’ mess.”

Harry realized the olive branch for what it was— a chance to act like the kiss hadn’t happened— and he jumped to take it. “Yeah, good thing. I would _not_ have loved scrubbing paint out of these floor boards.”

For the moment, everything was seemingly forgotten and Harry couldn't have been more grateful for it. He didn’t think he would’ve been strong enough to keep holding Louis at a distance if the man had forced him to acknowledge the kiss. 

A few days after what Harry had begun referring to as _the incident_ , he found himself once again at the farmer’s market with Louis; a trip that they’d begun to make somewhat of a weekly ritual. 

He had gone this time with a list of things he needed to get: strawberries, lemons, and _of course_ Marge’s famous honey. 

The strawberries and lemons were for a simple strawberry lemonade cake that he had decided he wanted to bake for Louis, because the man had expressed to Harry only a day or so earlier how much he liked cake. The honey was simply because Niall was right when he said it was the best in the world, and Harry had come to simply _adore_ using it when he baked. 

Which, while on that topic, he had begun to bake again. It was only a cake here and a dozen cupcakes there (—definitely no creme brûlée), but it was a far cry from only a month ago when the sight of an oven made him queasy. It seemed that Canyon was doing its job of curing his hatred of all things cooking that Marisa had caused in him. 

Along with his returning love of cooking, he found himself falling harder and faster for Louis than he should’ve been. Everytime the man would smile his way or flash a cheeky wink at Harry, he found his stomach erupting in butterflies and a warm blush filling his cheeks. 

He also couldn’t stop thinking about that goddamn _kiss_. Unfortunately for Harry, it seemed like Louis had forgotten all about it. There was no knowing going in his eyes, he didn’t linger his gaze on Harry’s lips, he didn’t do anything to acknowledge the fact that it had happened. Harry didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. On one hand, it was brilliant because he knew that he shouldn’t even be entertaining the thought of some _summer fling_ with Louis because it would only hurt him in the end. One the other hand, it already hurt him, because he couldn’t stand feeling that way for Louis and knowing that he had fucked up his chance because Louis had moved on. 

He was pulled out of his deprecating thoughts by Louis snatching a strawberry from the carton that was in Harry’s cloth bag and holding it up to his pink lips to take a tantalizingly slow and unfairly hot bite of it. When he pulled it away from his lips, they were left stained a sinful shade of red and Harry’s eyes nearly fell out of his head from the way he stared longingly at the man’s mouth. 

“Hey, instead of listening to music in the back of your truck, we should get some ice cream,” Louis suggested, pulling Harry’s gaze from his lips and back to his eyes. He adjusted his grip on Clifford’s leash and dropped the strawberry stem into a garbage can that they were passing on their way out of the farmer’s market. 

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Harry agreed as they approached his truck. They first loaded Clifford up into it before Harry set his bags on the floor in front of the passenger seat. 

With Louis’s guidance, they made their way back into the town center, and Harry pulled the truck over in front of a small ice cream shoppe that had a few metal tables and chairs set up in front of it. 

The pair climbed out of the truck, Harry with Clifford’s leash clutched in his hand. 

While Louis went inside to get their cones, Harry settled at a table out front with Clifford sprawled out at his feet. 

Only a few minutes later, Louis emerged from the shoppe with two cones held in his hands and a bottle of water and a small plastic dish tucked under his arm. One cone was green with chocolate chunks in it (—obviously mint choc chip) and the other was a dull yellow color with swirls of chocolate in it. 

Louis handed Harry the yellow cone before he tucked the water bottle between his knees, using his free hand to twist the cap off. He then set the plastic dish on the ground and poured a bit of the water in it— which Clifford immediately began to gulp. 

Harry eyed his cone warily, not quite sure what odd flavor Louis had gotten him. “What the hell is this flavor, Lou?”

“Banana fudge swirl,” Louis answered before swirling his tongue over the back of his hand where his ice cream had begun to drip down it. “You seemed like a banana type guy.”

“I like bananas, but I’m not too sure if I like them in ice cream form.”

“Oh, just try it, you baby.”

Harry rolled his eyes at Louis’s teasing and then tentatively poked his tongue out in order to take a small lick of the rapidly melting treat. He smacked his lips together a bit, unsure as to if he liked it or not, but after a few seconds he decided that it was alright and took another lick of it. 

“See, Harold,” Louis said as he licked his own cone, “we may have only known each other for a month, but I know what kind of ice cream you will or won’t like.”

“ _Or_ you just got lucky,” Harry teased back and relished in the warm smile that Louis rewarded his jibe with. 

After that, the pair ate their ice cream in silence and Harry found himself actually enjoying the quiet. With other people, silence was always awkward and Harry found himself trying to avoid it at all costs, but with Louis it just felt… _nice_. 

There was no pressure to try and keep up the conversation; the pair was just content being around each other. Harry found himself relishing in the ease that was his and Louis’s friendship. Though, he wasn’t sure that friendship was going to be enough for him anymore. It definitely wouldn’t be enough if Louis kept flashing that gorgeous smile of his Harry’s way. 

A few days later, Harry found himself back at _Horan’s_ , this time with only Louis as company because the rest of the group was busy with work or other plans. 

Niall is there bartending for the night, so after a quick _hello_ to him while they get their drinks, the two walk further into the building and find a vacant table to take up residence at for the evening. 

As they settled in and Harry sipped his (—now signature) lemon drop, he glanced up to the stage to see that it was void of any microphones or instruments, with the only music present coming from the speakers that were situated up in the corners of the building. 

“Too bad it’s not open mic night,” Harry said as he turned his gaze onto Louis as the man took a gulp of his Guinness. 

“And why’s that, Harold?” Replied Louis as he swiped the back of his hand over his mouth to catch any of the beer that may have lingered there. 

“I’d like to hear you sing one of your songs.”

Louis chuckled awkwardly, as he avoided Harry’s gaze. “Maybe one day, but definitely not in front of a crowd.”

A while later, their conversation has transitioned into their homes and Louis mentions how he decided earlier that year to turn his vacation spot in Canyon into his permanent home for a while. 

“It must be cool to be able to uproot and do your work from anywhere,” Harry said offhandedly as he watched Louis sip his drink. 

Louis nodded as he swallowed. “It is. New York’s smoggy air just wasn’t serving to help my creative juices flow, so I thought maybe a getaway would help me out, but I found that I like it a lot here. It’s like the fun I had on vacation as a child, but on crack. I’m just glad it’s not too far from my family, because I just couldn’t stand to be apart from them like that.”

“They live close?”

“Yep,” Louis nodded as he twirled the skinny straw around in his rum and coke. “They live in Cooperstown in New York, so it’s only about a 5 hour drive. It’s not the _closest_ it could be, but it’s not cross country, you know?.”

Harry nodded in understanding. Before Louis continued speaking. “Enough about me, though. Why’d you take a vacation so far away from home?”

Harry could feel himself starting to clam up, but the genuine look on Louis’s face made him feel inclined to tell the man the truth. “Uhh, I went through a rough break up with my fiancée a couple of months before deciding to come out here. I came home to her getting head from her personal trainer on our kitchen counter. After that it was hard to even look at a kitchen without flashing back to it, never mind being able to cook decent food in one for ten hours at a time for work. Luckily James — my boss— is a good man and saw how hard of a time I was having, so he told me to take a leave in order to try and heal. Or at least _heal_ was the word he used.”

Harry could tell by the way that Louis’s face had lost its color and his wide eyes that he was thinking about _the incident_ and probably feeling a mountain of guilt for springing a kiss on a newly heartbroken man (—not that Harry minded the kiss all that much. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he found himself wanting _another_ one). In order to save Louis from more guilt and embarrassment, Harry hurried to continue. 

“But, I feel like Canyon and everyone that I met here has been helping me so much. To be completely honest with you, I haven’t thought much about Marisa since I first got here at the beginning of the month.”

Harry could see on Louis’s face that he was reluctant to accept that and still felt guilty, but he also looked pretty eager to move on and leave the awkward situation in the past. 

Putting the previous conversation behind them, the pair went on to share small talk and laughter, the awkwardness completely faded. 

By the end of the night, when Harry and Louis are standing outside the bar, readying to walk back to their respective vehicles, Harry found himself studying Louis’s face that was lit up by the dim lights outside the bar, along with the glowing moon and star light, and he found himself wanting to lean in and close the gap between their lips. He _knew_ that he shouldn’t, and he knew that they’d both end up hurting in the end if they started anything, but _God_ , the hurt would be so worth it if he could feel Louis’s lips upon his own just _one more time_. 

The next day, Harry sat on his newly fixed (— thank you, Liam) front porch, pink glasses over his eyes and phone in his hand, once again FaceTiming Gemma and telling her of his inner turmoil regarding his feelings for a certain blue-eyed, pierced, and tatted up man. 

“I just don’t know what to do, Gems,” he groaned as he looked at her pale, freckled face on the screen. “It’s like, he’s _perfect_ and I’ve never felt like this before, but I’m leaving in two months.”

Gemma’s expression was extremely wary, and Harry could tell that he probably wasn’t going to like whatever she had to say. 

“Listen, Harry, I’m gonna be completely honest with you. I don’t know how good of an idea it is to jump into anything. You’re just starting to get over one heartbreak, and I don’t want to have to see you go through another one so soon after Marisa.”

He was right— he _didn’t_ like what she had to say. 

He sighed as he ran a hand through his slightly greasy hair. “I _know_ that it’s a bad idea, but I also know that I’ve _never_ felt this way before. My feelings for Louis hit me so quickly and so _intensely_. I’ve never felt like this in the four years I was with Marisa, no matter how horrible of me that sounds. It’s different with Louis.”

Gemma was silent for a moment before she spoke. “Haz, I’m all for you finding love and being happy, but I just want you to think about what happens if you pursue these feelings and then the end of summer comes and you have to come back to LA.”

“I don’t know what to do. On one hand, I know that it’s in my best interest to just be friends with him, but on the other hand, I’ve been trying to keep my feelings at bay for almost a month and it sucks _ass_.”

Gemma chuckled at Harry’s bluntness. “Then maybe it’s time to start thinking with your heart instead of your brain, baby brother.”

Not even a few minutes later, Harry was hanging up with Gemma, his mind even more of a mess than it was before he called her. The only thing that he could process was the lingering and overwhelming urge to see Louis and kiss his face off. 

Without thinking, Harry stood from the chair he was sitting on and patted his shorts to make sure his keys were there before pulling them out and rushing to his truck. 

He was done thinking with his brain, it was time to let his heart do the thinking. 

When he got to Louis’s cabin, his car was there, but when Harry knocked on the door there was no answer and no telltale barking from Clifford, leading him to believe that the man had taken Clifford on a walk. 

With a sigh, he fell onto a chair that was set up next to the door and waited (—rather restlessly) for Louis to return, his burst of confidence dwindling more and more as the minutes went on. He didn’t know how long he was waiting, or when he started to doze off, but suddenly he was being awakened by a soft pressure on his shoulder. 

He jerked awake and his eyes locked onto Louis standing above him with Clifford drooling happily at his side. The dog in question jumped up with his front paws balanced on Harry’s leg and did his best to slobber all over the man’s face in greeting.

“Cliff, pal, Harry doesn’t need you to give him a bath,” Louis chuckled as he shooed Clifford off of Harry’s lap before turning back to the man. “What’re you doing here, Hazza?”

Harry scrambled up from the chair and pushed up his sunnies so that they were resting on top of his head instead of over his eyes. “I just really needed to talk to you about something and you weren’t here, so I figured that I’d wait for a bit. I must’ve fallen asleep by accident.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were planning on stopping by, so I took Cliff out on a walk,” Louis replied as he led Harry into his cabin and unhooked Clifford from his leash. 

“It’s no problem.” Harry dismissed Louis’s worries as he followed him out onto the back porch. “That’s what I figured when you didn’t answer the door and I didn’t hear him barking.”

“Let me just grab Cliff a dish of water and get us some lemonade then I’ll be right out so we can talk,” Louis said as his eyes crinkled adorably and he gave Harry a smile that rendered him weak in the knees.

Harry nodded and watched as Louis went back into the couch. He nearly collapsed onto one of the chairs that surrounded the deck’s glass table and he tried his best to settle the nerves in his stomach. He didn’t really have a solid plan for what he was planning on saying or doing once he got the chance to talk to Louis, but he knew that he had to tell the man about his rapidly developing feelings, otherwise they’d eat him alive from the inside. 

Only a couple of minutes later, Louis came back out onto the deck, with a pitcher of pink lemonade in hand, and Harry’s heart began jackrabitting. 

Louis quickly poured two glasses of lemonade before he handed one to Harry and sat in the chair next to him. “Now, what did you wanna talk about?”

Immediately, Harry clammed up and the lines that he had been preparing in his mind vanished. “I-I um— ”

Louis seemed to notice how nervous Harry had suddenly become, because he set his half-empty glass down and leaned forward, taking one of Harry’s clammy palms in his own and squeezing reassuringly. “Haz, listen, I know that we’ve only known each other for a couple of months, but in that short amount of time, I’ve really come to care for you a lot. You can tell me anything. You don’t have to be nervous.”

Harry used Louis’s steady hand as a crutch to help settle his nerves before finally looking the man in the eyes and plainly saying, “I like you far more than I should.”

Louis’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “I’m not sure I’m following. What do you mean by _far more than you should_?”

Harry sighed at his poor choice of words before trying to explain. “I told myself I wasn’t gonna fall for you because I’m so fresh out of a long relationship and we would only have till the end of summer and I just don’t want to hurt either of us, but you’re so _beautiful_ and I couldn’t help but catch feelings for you and— ”

His incessant rambling was abruptly cut short by a warm, smooth pressure on his lips and after a few seconds he was able to comprehend the fact that Louis was kissing him.

_Wait_. Louis was kissing him. Holy _shit_.

Harry refused to chance Louis pulling away like he had the first time because of a lack of a response, so without thinking, he leaned forward in his chair, reaching up and threading his fingers through Louis’s soft and slightly damp hair (— in the back of his mind he attributed the dampness to the sweat the man likely built up whilst walking in the mid-afternoon heat). 

It wasn’t fireworks like described in the books (— or trashy teen mags that he _definitely_ borrowed from Gemma as a kid and didn’t buy with his own money), it wasn’t completely flawless like in the movies, and Louis’s mouth didn’t taste like rainbows and sunshine (— more like an odd mixture of mint toothpaste, stale tea, and the slightly bitter lemonade that they were just drinking), but, _God_ , it was everything that Harry had daydreamed about and more.

It was the way that Louis’s calloused fingertips ran down the line of Harry’s jaw in a gentle caress, and the way that he and Harry had both slid to the very edges of their seats, knees knocking together almost painfully in an attempt to get as close as they possibly could without one sitting in the other’s lap. Harry could truthfully say, as Louis’s tongue slid teasingly over his bottom lip, that he had _never_ been kissed so thoroughly and so absolutely wonderfully than the way that Louis was kissing him in that very moment.

A few short seconds later, when they were forced to pry away from each other’s lips because the lack of oxygen had become too much, they sat (— kneecaps still rubbing together) smiling at each other like smitten dorks, their chests heaving breaths in and out.

“That was…” Harry trailed off, his cheeks beginning to ache from straining their muscles by smiling so widely.

“Perfect,” Louis finished his sentence, his wide smile mirroring Harry’s own. “Absolutely perfect. I had thought when you didn’t kiss me back at your cabin that day, it meant you didn’t feel the same way.”

Harry shook his head as he reached forward to take Louis’s hand in his own (— holy shit, he was allowed to do that now, wasn’t he?). “I was just scared, and I had my guard up. I didn’t want to get into something with you because of how recently my engagement had ended. _Also_ because I knew that when I left at the end of August, I’d just end up hurting us both. But, I think I realized that I’d just hurt more if I left without seeing what could’ve been.”

Louis leaned forward, his free hand coming up to cup Harry’s cheek that was dusted with a bit of day-old stubble. When his face was close enough to Harry’s that their noses bumped lightly, he tipped his head up, brushing his kiss swollen lips against the other man’s in a short, sweet kiss.

“Hazza, I know we don’t have long, but like you said, I think we would both regret it if we didn’t try.”

A couple of days after _the confession_ , as Harry had begun calling it, he and Louis were situated in the kitchen of Louis’s cabin, preparing some food to bring to Niall and Jade’s Fourth of July barbeque party. They had decided that Louis’s was the best place for the food prep because his kitchen was pretty much twice the size of Harry’s

At the moment, Harry was situated at the island counter, slicing cherry tomatoes in half for a caprese salad whilst Louis sat at a stool across from him, sliding grapes and star-shaped slices of watermelon onto skewers. 

“You do realize that I could do something a bit more complex than putting fruit on a stick, right?” Louis griped good naturedly as he picked up another slicfe of watermelon. “You could at least let me cut the watermelon into stars.”

Harry chuckled in return as he scooped the tomato halves off of the cutting board, dumping them into the plastic dish off to his side which already held the mozzarella chunks that he had earlier cut up. 

“Lou, I let you cut one piece and _somehow_ you made it look like a mangled penis,” Harry laughed as Louis stuck his tongue out in retaliation. 

“Okay, okay, I know when my service isn’t wanted,” Louis conceded as he continued to slide fruit onto the skewers. “This is why I stick to drinks, you know.”

“I know, and I appreciate your drinks, darling,” Harry laughed back before going silent after noticing the nickname that he had unconsciously slipped into his sentence. 

“Darling, huh?” Louis smirked, his eyes dancing playfully. When Harry’s cheeks flushed a dark red, he continued speaking, this time in a more gentle tone. “I like it. Maybe I should start calling you babycakes?”

Harry scrunched his nose in distaste as he added the basil to his salad. “Maybe not something so gaudy, please?”

Louis laughed heartily. “I’ll think of something for you, Hazza.”

Harry smiled softly and leaned as far as he could over the table with puckered lips, Louis meeting him halfway in a soft and short kiss. 

Only a couple of hours, Harry and Louis were walking through Jade and Niall’s open fence gate and making their way into the backyard where thumping music and booming voices could be heard. 

Harry’s hand was held snuggled in Louis’s while he held the caprese salad carefully under his free arm. 

As they walked into the view of Jiall (— as Louis fondly called the couple) and the other guests, borderline obnoxious cheers suddenly erupted throughout the group, with Niall’s voice being the loudest.

“Finally!” The man cheered as he jostled his beer and spilt it down his shirt a bit. “I was all but _choking_ on the sexual tension between the pair of you everytime you were together.”

Louis rolled his eyes fondly as he tightened his grip on Harry’s hand. “ _Thank you, Niall_. Now where can Harold and I put these? They need to stay cold.”

After Jade got up to show them where they could put the salad and the fruit skewers, they went outside to grab drinks and then settled down with the rest of their friends who had arrived before them. 

After an eventful afternoon filled with swimming in Jade and Niall’s huge inground pool, playing cornhole, and eating all sorts of food, the sun eventually went down and the group was gathered in close together to watch fireworks that Liam and Niall were preparing to set off together. 

As Louis and Harry cuddled together on a thin blanket that was set up on the ground, Louis leaned in close enough that his lips brushed the shell of Harry’s ear softly. 

“I’m glad you came to my cabin a couple days ago to tell me how you felt.”

Harry smiled softly, the dark masking his fond expression. He turned to face Louis and pulled him into a gentle kiss, lightly sucking the man’s thin bottom lip between his own for a short moment. 

When he pulled away, he took a second to stare into Louis’s blue eyes and admire the way that the moon’s light reflected against the sea blue iris. 

“I’m glad, too.”

Later that night, the pair was collapsing into Louis’s bed, both having decided that it was best to crash there for the night, as it was a shorter drive from Niall’s house and they were both a bit buzzed. Clifford’s muffled snores could be heard behind the closed bedroom door from where he slept on the couch in the living room. 

“I had a good time tonight,” Harry (—who was admittedly a bit tipsy) giggled as he wrapped his arms tightly around Louis’s waist, pulling the smaller man so that he was laying directly on top of his chest. 

“Me too,” Louis agreed, his voice muffled as he buried his face into the crook of Harry’s neck darting his tongue out to kitten lick the salty skin where Harry’s neck met his shoulder. 

Harry snorted as he nudged Louis’s devilish mouth away from his skin, guiding it towards his mouth instead. 

When their lips met, the usual stampede of butterflies fluttered their way into Harry’s stomach, and the way that Louis was restlessly wiggling around on top of him did nothing to quell the fuzzy feeling in his gut. 

When Harry’s tongue eventually found its way into the heat of Louis’s mouth, he was rewarded with an airy moan; something he’d never heard come out of Louis before, but a sound that he decided he _never_ wanted to stop hearing. 

He gripped Louis’s waist tighter as he angled his head to kiss the man deeper before he slid his hands down from Louis’s waist, skirting over his ass before sliding back up and under his loose t-shirt. 

Harry was relishing in the feeling of Louis’s warm skin underneath his fingertips as he rubbed his palms up and down the man’s waist when, abruptly, Louis pulled away from the kiss, panting as he looked down at Harry with wild, dilated eyes. 

“Would you be opposed to me blowing you right now?” Louis asked, his voice breathless and raspier than normal and—

Did he just ask Harry if he could _blow_ him?

“I-I, uh,” Harry stammered as he wracked his brain looking for a proper response. He wanted to, he _really_ wanted to, but he didn’t want to make Louis think that he _had_ to blow him just because things were getting more heated than usual. “Only if you want to.”

Louis chuckled as he reached down to pull his shirt over his head and throw it across the room, not paying any mind to where it landed behind him. “Does it look like I want to?”

Harry couldn’t help but snort out a laugh at how bold Louis had become and how his eyes had sobered up immensely. “It looks like you really want to.”

“And do you want to?”

Harry placed his hands on Louis’s— now bare— waist, before he rocked his hips up slightly into Louis’s, rubbing his prominent bulge against Louis’s ass from where the man was straddling him. 

“I’ll take that as a resounding _yes_ ,” Louis chuckled hoarsley before dipping back down to kiss Harry, breaking apart only so that he could rid Harry of his shirt, leaving the both of them bare from the waist up.

Directly after shedding Harry’s tee off of him, Louis took to shimmying his way down Harry’s chest, peppering the light patch of hair between his pecs with nippy, little kisses. Soon enough, Harry found Louis tugging lighting at the waistband of the basketball shorts that he had changed into not long ago, and looking up at him with wide blue eyes, as if he were asking permission to pull the shorts down. 

With a short nod of Harry’s head and him caressing Louis’s cheek gently, Louis made work of ridding Harry of his bottoms, leaving him in only a tight pair of black briefs. Before Harry could even comprehend it, Louis was giving him a devilish smirk and dipping his head down to latch his mouth over the bulge in his underwear.

Harry couldn’t help but give a sharp gasp as Louis took to suckling gently, creating a small, damp patch on the front of his briefs and rubbing a small hand up and down Harry’s upper thigh.

“Jesus Lou,” Harry moaned softly as he reached up to tangle his fingers in Louis’s sweat dampened hair, tugging lightly enough that it didn’t cause any pain, but hard enough that Louis moaned slightly, sending vibrations straight up Harry’s cock. Harry couldn't help but push up into the sensaition, causing him to accidentally nudge Louis's nose. "You're perfect. You _look_ perfect like this, holy _shit_."

Louis pulled away from Harry's crotch with a throaty chuckle, reaching up to hook his fingertips into the elastic of his underwear. "Christ, babe, I've barely even touched you and you're all worked up."

"Sorry," Harry murmured sheepishly, bowing his head in an attempt to hide his blush.

"Don't be sorry, love," Louis said gently as he began to pull down Harry's briefs, inch by tantalizing inch. "You're driving me completely _insane_.

And in one swift motion, Harry's underwear were around his knees, leaving him exposed to Louis. 

"Christ, you're big." And with that, Louis was dipping down to take the head of Harry's cock into his mouth.

Harry couldn't help but gather the bed sheets between his fists in an attempt not to pull chunks of Louis's hair out of his head, because _fuck_ , his mouth was absolutely sinful.

After a few seconds, Louis pulled off of Harry's cock with a wet _pop_

and was ducking his head down lower in order to run his tongue from the bottom of his shaft all the way to the tip, where he once again sucked it into the tight heat of his mouth. This time, instead of focusing on the tip, Louis relaxed his throat and took Harry down as far as he could, using his hand to cover the space that his mouth couldn't. Soon, Louis was bobbing his head up and down in a steady rhythm that matched his fist's, and Harry was beginning to lose himself in the sensation.

"Fuck. _Christ_ ," Harry moaned as he threw an arm over his eyes, his hips bucking up violently against his will in an unconsious attempt to chase Louis's mouth on an upstroke. 

Louis pulled off quickly as Harry began to make it known that he was about to burst, climbing up the younger man's body in order to pull his arm off of his face and plant a sloppy kiss on his open mouth.

"You gonna come, babe?" Louis asked throatily, as he grinded his still-clothed erection into Harry's bare groin. "Wanna come while we're rutting together like horny teens? Make my shorts all messy with your come?"

Harry couldn't seem to manage any words, so instead he nodded silently as he panted, his hot breath painting Louis's face.

Louis only cocked an eyebrow in return. "Use your words, Hazza or you won't get what you want."

" _P-Please_ , Louis," Harry managed to stutter out through an involuntary moan. "I want that."

"That's all you had to say," Louis smirked before he began to grind down onto Harry's cock in earnest.

Before long, the pair had a rhythm set up with Harry thrusting up to meet Louis's thrusts, both holding onto each other tightly and attempting to kiss as they humped, but only managing a pathetic brushing of open lips and panting into each other's mouths, the ecstasy being too much for them to actually put any effort into the kiss. 

After only a few minutes or so of their lower halves grinding togther (— so fucking _harmoniously_ , it's like the pair were _made_ to pleasure each other, that's how phenominal it felt), Harry felt his orgasm creeping up on him. "Lou, I-I'm gonna— "

Louis grunted as he thrusted down particularly hard. "Then do it, Harry. Come for me."

Not even a couple of thrusts later, Harry was coming in long, white strands, dirtying Louis's short in what had to be the most intense orgasm he'd had in months, if not _years_.

Harry spaced out in a post-orgasm haze as Louis continued thrusting his hips down, his moans getting louder and more frequent, before he finally stilled, his face burying itself in the crook of Harry's neck.

After a few moments of silence, the only sound in the room being the two men's heavy panting, Louis spoke. "Shit, Haz. I haven't came in my pants like that since I was a fucking teenager."

"Is that a good thing?" Harry asked, his voice scratchy from moaning.

"A very good thing." 

A couple of weeks later, and Louis and Harry have grown impossibly closer, spending virtually all of their time together.

That afternoon, for example, found the couple lounging in the shallow end of the lake after having had a cozy picnic together on Louis’s pier— an event that was filled with laughter and the two feeding each other pieces of fruit.

As they sat at the edge of the water exchanging soft kisses, Louis pulled away suddenly.

“I have a proposition,”Louis said as he smirked deviantly, eying the water where Clifford was currently splashing around with a long stick clutched between his teeth.

“And what’s that?” Harry asked wearily, knowing that whenever Louis got that glint in his eyes, he was thinking of doing something that would cause Harry to immaturely sprout a few grey hairs out of worry.

“We should... “ Louis paused for what Harry presumed was dramatic effect. “Skinny dip!”

Harry felt his eyes widen involuntarily. “You wanna skinny dip in a gross lake?”

“Hey, it’s not gross!” Louis protested with a pout of his lips and a scrunch of his nose as he splased a bit of water up at Harry in retaliation. “Cliff drinks this water while he’s in it. If it were gross I wouldn’t let him.”

“Lou,” Harry sighed, knowing that he would inevitably lose the argument and end up having to strip. “There’s probably, like, tadpoles and bugs and shit in there.”

“ _Harry_ ,” Louis drawled pleadingly, batting his eyelashes and tilting his head in a way that was so completely adorable that it should’ve been considered illegal. “Please?”

“Well how am I meant to say no to _that_ face?”

Louis giggled victoriously as he lunged at Harry, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before making work of ridding him of his swimming trunks and pulling him further into the lake.

Harry encircled Louis with his arms as the smaller man wrapped his legs around his waist, trusting Harry to keep him afloat.

“These have been some of the best weeks of my life,” Louis said softly as he rested his head on Harry’s shoulder.

Harry felt a deep pang of something settle in the pit of his stomach as he held Louis tighter. “Me, too.”

It seemed as if time was flying, as soon another two weeks had passed, putting them firmly in the month of August— the end of Harry’s vacation approaching scarily fast. 

That particular morning found Harry and Louis cuddled together in Louis’s bed with Clifford at their feet despite the heat of the sun beating in through the window.

Louis paused where he was stroking his fingers through Harry’s rapidly growing hair (— it was reaching well past his ears at that point) and said, “I’m gonna perform at open mic tonight.”

Harry looked at him in surprise. “Seriously? That’s great, Lou. I can’t wait to finally hear you sing.”

Louis continued playing gently with his hair. “Not one of my songs— I’m not ready for that, but I wanna sing something for you.”

Harry smiled broadly as he snuggled further into Louis’s side. “I can’t wait.”

Later that night, Harry and Louis were approaching the bar attached tightly at the hand. The bartender this time was a man with blonde ringlets that fell to his shoulders and he was wearing the customary _Horan’s_ black polo and black jeans.

Once they reached the bar, Louis introduced Harry to the bartender and the brown-skinned brunette that he was speaking to. 

“Haz, this is Luke and his girlfriend, Sierra,” The shorter man said amicably, “guys, this is my boyfriend, Harry.”

God. He’d never get over the butterflies that invaded his stomach when Louis said that word, would he?

“Nice to meet you, Harry,” Luke spoke, with a similar greeting from Sierra following.

After chatting for a few minutes, Harry and Louis ordered their drinks (— a tequila sunrise and a gin and tonic, respectively), they made their way over to where Zayn, Liam, the bartender that was working the first night Harry had ever been there (— Crystal), and an unfamiliar man were sitting.

During the customary greetings, Harry learned that Michael was Crystal’s fiancée. He finds that, though he likes to think that he’s mostly over his own failed engagement, the word _fiancée_ still triggers his flight or fight response and leaves him uneasy. The weight of Louis’s arm as he throws it over Harry’s shoulder when they sit down does well to ground Harry and make him feel better.

After a few minutes of meaningless, but easy conversation, they’re interrupted by a man with fire engine red hair tapping the mic and clearing his throat on the small stage. When he saw that he had (— for the most part) everyone’s attention, he spoke.

“Hi everyone!” He exclaimed jovially, with a wide, dimpled smile.

“ _Ash!_ ” He was cut off by an exclamation from Luke at the bar.

With a chuckle, he continued. “Thanks, Luke. In case you somehow didn’t hear Luke right now, and you don’t recognize me, I’m Ashton and I’ll be your open mic host for the night. The sign up sheet is up here on the stage and we’ll be kicking things off shortly, folks!”

“Welp, that’s, my que,” Louis quipped as he leaned forward to plant a quick kiss in Harry’s cheek, his stubble tickling the man’s sensitive skin and sending a shiver down his spine. “Be right back, darling.”

Harry watched as Louis got up and followed Michael to the stage, eyes glued to the way his boyfriend swayed his hips sensually, until his staring was interrupted by Zayn’s voice. 

“Is Louis singing a song tonight?”

“Yeah,” Harry answered him with a confused furrow of his brows. “Why do you sound so shocked?”

Zayn scoffed lightly. “Maybe because I’ve only heard him sing maybe _four_ times in the decade that I’ve known him.”

“Louis is pretty insecure with his voice,” Liam jumped in to explain in a more rational way than his husband. “He tends to avoid singing around people like the plague, never mind in front of an entire _crowd_.”

“Hm,” Harry pondered, “I wonder what’s changed his mind.”

Crystal laughed knowingly. “Yeah, I wonder.”

Liam and Zayn join in on her laughter and before Harry could ask what they found so amusing, Louis and Michael were returning to their seats.

Harry leaned in close to Louis’s ear. “You know you don’t _have_ to sing just because I asked you to, right?”

Louis chuckled before capturing Harry’s lips in a short, but sweet, kiss. “I know. I _want_ to sing for you, Harold.”

Harry couldn’t help but wonder what made Louis change his mind about his apparently crippling fear of singing in front of people and, as he rested his head on Louis’s shoulder, he got lost in his thoughts.

He must’ve zoned out because, before he knew it, Michael was climbing onto the stage and being met by Ashton, who handed him an acoustic guitar before clapping him on the back and exiting the stage.

“I wrote this for my beautiful Crystal,” Michael spoke as his eyes sought out Crystal at their table. As he gave her a soft smile, he introduced the song and began strumming the guitar. “This is _Best Years_.”

As Harry listened to the (— frankly _stunning_ ) lyrics flow from Michael’s mouth, he studied Crystal who wore a soft smile and gleaming eyes as she watched her fiancé croon to her.

The twinge of jealousy that he expected to appear never fell into his stomach, and as he took a look at Louis who was enraptured by Michael’s performance, he knew why. How could he feel jealous of Michael and Crystal’s wholesome relationship when he now had his own with Louis?

_I promise darling, you won’t regret_

_The best years_

_I'll give you the best years_

“Very romantic of him to write her such a beautiful song,” Harry murmured offhandedly from where his head rested on Louis’s shoulder.

From where Harry’s head was situated, he couldn’t see the soft smile on Louis’s face and the glint in his eyes. “Yeah, very romantic, indeed.”

“Next up is… Louis Tomlinsom?” Ashton announced from the stage, his voice laced with confusion. “Um, here’s Louis Tomlinson, everyone!”

“Wish me luck, Haz,” Louis said as Harry lifted his head from the man’s shoulder before leaning down to peck his cheek and then walking up to the stage, his steps a bit shaky and revealing his nervousness.

When he reached the stage, he surveyed the crowd with a bit of apprehension in his eyes before he locked gazes with Harry. “Hi, everyone. I don't typically sing for crowds, but I’ve got a beautiful boy with an affinity for Taylor Swift out there tonight, so this ones for him.”

When the backtrack kicked in, Harry immediately recognized it, but couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

_Nice to meet you, where you been?_

_I could show you incredible things_

_Holy fuck_. The way Louis sang the song completely twisted it on its side, his high and raspy voice turning the pop song into something that was more pop-punk than anything else. It reminded Harry of _The All American Rejects_ and _All Time Low_ and he couldn’t get enough of it. The way Louis stared into his eyes the entire time he was singing was absolutely _tantalizing_ and it turned Harry on more than he thought he’d _ever_ been turned on. 

By the time the song came to an end and Louis was singing the final lines, Harry was ready to jump his bones in the middle of the bar. When he got back to his seat, temples shining with a bit of sweat from the stage lights, Harry pulled him into a bruising kiss, wasting no time before licking his tongue into Louis’s mouth and then sucking lightly on the man’s own tongue with his lips. 

When they pulled apart, both breathless and ignoring the teasing jeers from their friends, Louis looked at Harry with wide, dilated eyes. “What was _that_ for?”

“That was the most _beautiful_ thing that anyone has ever done for me,” Harry panted as he stared into Louis’s eyes. “And you’re definitely getting laid tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Louis replied breathlessly.

Surely enough, later that night, Harry found himself and Louis naked in Louis’s bed while the older man circled Harry’s entrance with a lubed finger before pushing in slowly. Harry couldn’t help but lightly at the sensation of Louis being _inside_ of him for the first time ever. 

“Just go slow,” Harry panted as he scrunched his eyes closed at the foreign obstrusion. “It’s been  
_years_ since I was with a man.”

Louis leaned down to capture Harry’s lips in a soft kiss as he began to carefully move his middle finger in and out of Harry’s hole. When he pulled away, he nuzzled his nose into Harry’s warm cheek. “Don’t you worry, darling, I’m gonna take _such_ good care of you. You’re gonna feel _so_ good. Gonna ruin you for anyone else because all you’ll ever think about when doing this is _me_.”

Harry’s voice hitched on a moan as Louis slid his finger out of his hole before pressing back, this time with a second one. “ _Please_. Want you to ruin me. _Please, Lou_.”

“Don’t worry, Haz,” Louis whispered as he picked up the pace at which he was dragging his fingers in and out of Harry, using his free hand to push the man’s fringe off of his sweat-dampened forehead. “I’ve got you. You ready for another, baby?”

Harry nodded vehemently and keened as Louis added his ring finger to the other two. The stretch stung slightly, but it also felt absolutely _delicious_ , especially when added to the dirty little sentiments that Louis kept mumbling into the room, which was silent save for his voice, Harry’s little moans and groans, and the squelching sound of Louis moving his over-lubricated (— Harry must’ve missed him adding more lube in his sex-hazed mind) fingers in and out of Harry’s body at a pace that was completely _mind-numbing_. 

Louis attached his lips to Harry’s neck and sucked lightly as he crooked his fingers, brushing the tips of them against a bundle of nerves that had Harry nearly screaming and bucking his hips violently in an attempt to chase the sensation. 

“ _There!_ Again, please Lou— _ngh_ ,” Harry lost the ability to form coherent sentences as Louis smirked, crooking his fingers again and hitting Harry’s prostate nearly dead on. The man was reduced to something like a gooey mess, only able to mutter Louis’s name between moans.

“Lou,” he panted as he scraped his blunt nails down Louis’s back, surely leaving bright red streaks that he’d feel guilty for later, but in the moment couldn’t bring himself to care about. “In me— _now_.”

Louis chuckled hoarsely at Harry’s demand, slowing the pace that his hand had built up as his fingers dragged against Harry’s tight walls, nearly coming to a stop and only regaining his speed when Harry whined in distress and annoyance. “You sure you’re ready for me? You said it’s been a while, so maybe we should keep doing this for a bit.”

“ _No_ ,” Harry rasped, his nails digging into Louis’s shoulder blades almost painfully. “Need your cock, Lou. _Now_.”

“Well, when you put it like _that_.”

And with that, Louis was pulling his fingers out of Harry’s hole slowly, stroking his hair lightly with his free hand to soothe the whine that escaped his mouth at the empty feeling left behind. In the back of his hazy mind, Harry registered the crinking of what he assumed was the condom wrapper and the wet sound of Louis lubing his cock up, before the blunt tip was pressy against his entrance. 

Harry felt Louis’s warm palm come up to cup his hot cheek. “Open your eyes and look at me, darling.”

Harry fought against the weight that seemed to be pinning his eyelids down, and managed to flutter them open just enough to see Louis’s red-flushed face through his eyelashes. He looked gorgeous and positively _sinful_.

“There’s my beautiful boyfriend,” Louis cooed as he stroked his thumb over the line of Harry’s cheek bone. “Are you ready for me?”

Harry managed a weak nod before his eyes slipped back closed as Louis leaned in to brush a barely-there kiss to his lips. 

And then he was pushing into Harry’s body. And it hurt _so fucking good_. The sting was delicious and in the back of his mind, Harry registered Louis groaning something along the lines of how tight he was. After a few seconds of painfully slowing pushing, Louis was buried to the hilt in Harry’s hole, his balls brushing against Harry’s asscheeks.

“You feel so fucking good. Can I move?”

Harry could only moan and give Louis a weak nod, but it was enough to get Louis to begin slowly pulling out until only his tip was inside of Harry’s hole before he began to push back in, this time faster and harder than before, pulling a raggedn groan out of the younger man. 

In what seemed like no time at all, Louis had set a mind-numbing pace and Harry had all he could to meet Louis’s thrusts. Nearly as soon as Louis got a shaking hand around Harry’s length, it only took _one… two_ pumps before Harry was coming with a groan, Louis not following far behind. 

Harry must’ve blacked out, because when he came to, Louis was leaning over him and wiping down his semen-covered stomach and lube-soaked inner thighs with a damp rag from the bathroom.

When Louis noticed that Harry’s eyes were opened, he tossed the rag onto the floor with a _splat_ that made Harry cringe internally. Louis grinned softly at him before laying down against the pillows and pulling Harry into his arms. “Hi, darling. Was it okay?”

“It was perfect.”

After their first time, the days seemed to keep passing by astronomicaly quickly, and soon enough it was the night before Harry’s flight back to LA was scheduled. 

Niall had insisted that they have a going away party for him at the bar, so he had spent a ,ajority of the night being passed back and forth between his friends, all of them wanting a chance to talk to him before the night was out since his flight left early in the morning and he wouldn’t see anyone the next day. 

Zayn and Liam had both given him tight hugs and told him how glad they were to have met him. The girls got teary eyed and made him promise to keep in touch, whether it be through social media, email, carrier pigeon, _whatever_. Niall had outright shed tears as he held onto Harry tightly and forced him to promise that he’d come back to visit as soon as he could, though it wasn’t much of a hardship for Harry to make that particular promise, as he had a feeling that he’d miss the place like a missing limb when he was back in the always busy and overcrowded city of LA.

Harry absolutely adored his one last get together with his friends, but the only downside to it was that he didn’t get to see much of Louis the whole night, as the man had taken to sulking by the bar area and chatting with Calum who was on duty that night. He didn’t outright say it, but Harry knew that Louis was taking his departure badly. They hadn’t talked about it, but it was pretty much unspoken that this was their last night as a couple. They were so touchy-feely and attached at the hip that Harry knew they both understood that a 3,000 mile long distance relationship between them would never work and Harry was dreaded having to have that talk with him at the end of the night.

But, sure enough, the end of the night _did_ come creeping up on them and Harry found himself driving through the dark in the direction of Louis’s cabin (— which he now knew by heart and _never_ got lost on the way to.

Harry's grip tightened painfully on the worn down leather of the steering wheel as tears blurred his vision. He tried his best to discreetly swipe them away with the back of one of his hands, but he knew that he was caught when he felt Louis's small hand grip his thigh softly.

"Oh, no, darling," Louis whispered in despair, his voice thick with emotion, "please don't cry."  
"I'm not," Harry denied gruffly with a deafening sniffle. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine, Harold," Louis tutted and Harry heard the click of his seatbelt being unbuckled before the smaller man sidled up against his side warmly. "I've never seen you cry like this before."

"Yeah, well you've only known me for three months, so that's not really saying much," Harry griped. He regretted his harsh words as soon as they fell from his worry-bitten lips. "I'm sorry, Lou, I didn't mean it that way."

Louis sighed sadly as he laid his head gently on Harry's shaking shoulder. Harry reveled in the feel of Louis's wispy hair tickling the side of his neck and the thought of losing that feeling forever made his second wave of tears hit much harder than the first had. After Marisa’s infidelity, Harry didn't think he had it in him to care for anyone ever again, let alone in such an unfiltered and trusting way, but Louis proved him wrong in so many ways. 

Louis was like a breath of fresh air in Harry's polluted life and he couldn't imagine losing the man or caring for someone as much, even after only knowing him for three short months. He couldn't imagine not waking up by his side with Clifford snuggled up contently at their feet. He couldn’t imagine not spending his weekends walkinglazily through the farmers market, hand in hand. He just couldn’t imagine losing Louis, but he was about to.

After an antagonizingly short period of time, Harry was pulling into Louis’s driveway for what was likely the last time and he did nothing to stop his tears from falling. 

He put the truck into park before he took a deep breath and turned to face Louis, at a loss of words for what to say.

After a few moments of thick and awkward silence, Louis spoke shakily. “This is the end, isn’t it?”

Harry sighed as he looked into the other man’s devastated face. “I don’t wanna lose you completely, Lou— ”

“But, you also don’t want to try to make our relationship work long distance,” Louis interjected bitterly. “Am I right?”

“I live in California, Lou,” Harry whispered painfully as he reached out to push back Louis’s wispy fringe. “No matter how much I wish it would, dating with that much distance between us would never work out. We’d only make ourselves miserable.”

Louis heaved out a deep sigh as he leaned into Harry’s gentle touch. “You’re right. I know we agreed to start this even though we _knew_ we’d probably end up hurting, but I didn’t know that it was gonna hurt _this_ much.”

“I know this is probably the worst possible moment for me to be saying this,” Harry started unsurely, but continued when he saw Louis’s encouraging grin, “but, I _do_ love you, Lou. So much.”

Louis chuckled tearfully. “I love you too, _Ranger Rick_.”

The familiar nickname caused Harry to chuckle lightly.

Louis leaned in, planting a firm kiss onto Harry’s heat-chapped lips before running a gentle hand through his unruly curls. “I’ll miss you so much, darling. _Please_ try to keep in touch, okay?”

Harry nodded. “I’ll call and text and FaceTime you so much that you’ll get sick of me.”

Louis smiled ruefully as tears slid down his cheeks, each individual droplet ripping out a fraction of Harry’s aching heart. “I could never get sick of you. Goodbye, Hazza.”

And without giving Harry a chance to answer, he was sliding out of the truck and making his way up to his cabin without even sparing a glance back at Harry. 

He watched through tear-blurred vision as the door slammed shut and Louis’s porch light flickered off, reminiscent of the very first night he had met Louis and given him a ride home from PG, but this time instead of a sense of curiosity, Harry’s gut was flooded with an overwhelming sense of sadness and something that almost felt like _regret_. He had to force himself to put his truck back into drive and pull away from Louis’s cabin before he did something stupid like cancelling his flight and begging Louis to have him forever and ever. 

As he pulled away, he did nothing to attempt to quell the salty river of tears that were steadily flowing from his eyes and blurring his vision.

Early the next morning, Harry forced himself to go through the motions of loading up his truck and driving to the airport, somewhat like a living zombie. He felt numb as he went through security at the airport and eventually as he boarded the plane. He stared blankly at the lockscreen of his phone, which was a photo of him napping on Louis’s chest as Louis stared into the camera with sleepy eyes and a small smile curled upon his lips.

As the _fasten seatbelt_ sign lit up and the plane began its ascent, there was only one thought glaring in Harry’s brain:

_Leaving him behind is going to be the biggest regret of my life_.


	2. update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> update on the sequel!

so, this obviously isn't a new chapter, but I just wanted to let whoever is interested in this fic know that there will be a sequel up sometime in late december to late january! I've already begun to write it, but I'm unsure of how long it will be or if it will be a one-shot/multi-chaptered, but if you want to keep up with my progress, then tune into my [tumblr](https://peachynialler.tumblr.com). more updates to come!

**Author's Note:**

> I know thats probably not the ending that a majority of you were wanting, but that's how i felt it should end. perhaps in the future i'll write a little sequel with a happy ending ( wink wink ), but for now, that's all, folks. I really hoped you liked it! feel free to leave kudos or a comment if you want!


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